Photo by Peter F. Kertzie

On Sept. 9 and 10, instructors from across the country converged on Tomahawk, Wis., to provide specialized fire training to approximately 500 firefighters at the 20th-annual Tomahawk Fire & Rescue School. The event was hosted by the Tomahawk Fire Department with the help of Fire and Rescue Response LLC. Each year, firefighters — usually from Wisconsin and neighboring states — come to Tomahawk, located about 40 minutes north of Wausau, Wis., for a weekend packed with hands-on fire training.

The first day focuses on practical training on “Truck, Engine and Saving Our Own” tactics, as firefighters have a chance to train on acquired structures. Specific areas addressed on the first day include search, ventilation, handline stretching, incident command and forcible entry.

On the second day, students get to apply what they have learned during more than a dozen live-fire training evolutions. This photo shows the culmination of a two-day “Advance Fire Operations” course.

For more information on the Tomahawk Fire Department visit  their Web site at  www.tomahawkfd.org.