John Hacker
The Joplin Globe, Mo.
(TNS)

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Chance Wills, a former Webb City fire lieutenant who died 10 years ago at age 43, left a lasting mark on fire departments throughout Jasper County, as both a firefighter and fire training officer.

A decade after his death, there are still a number of firefighters in Jasper County who benefitted from Wills’ commitment to making sure all firefighters had the training tools they needed, said Webb City Fire Battalion Chief Chris Burrows.

That’s why, on Tuesday, firefighters from departments across the county gathered at the Webb City Fire Station to dedicate the department’s new three-story training tower in honor of Wills.

“He was dedicated to the community, he was dedicated to this department, not only this department, but he volunteered for Carl Junction, Duenweg, he also worked for METS ambulance as an EMT,” Burrow said. “On the fire instructor side, he was involved with Missouri Southern’s fire academy and Crowder College’s fire academy, and then Carl Junction did an academy for a short period. He was totally dedicated to training for the fire service and that’s why this was so important to dedicate it to him because this was his thing.”

Wills’ widow, Amy Wills, and their two children, Ava and Landon, were on hand for the ribbon cutting Tuesday, with Amy Wills taking the giant scissors to make the cut.

The Webb City Fire Department made the decision last year to start its own fire training academy to help itself and other departments navigate a chronic shortage of trained firefighters to fill its ranks.

The first class of the Webb City Fire Training Academy completed its six-month training in July 2025 with four cadets training for the Webb City Fire Department, two training for the Carthage Fire Department and one training for Carl Junction.

The second class, slated to start in January 2026, is almost set with other departments sending new firefighters to Webb City for training.

Training starts with hazardous materials before moving into fighting fires.

“We start in January with Hazmat and they are fully tested and certified as firefighters by July,” Deputy Fire Chief Jeremy Denton said. “That’s skills training and taking state tests. We’ll start with hazmat ops and awareness, those go together. Then we move on to Fire 1 and Fire 2, so they’ll be fully certified by the state by the end of the training.”

Denton said the department bought five 40-foot-long shipping containers about 12 years ago and used them for training on the ground for several years.

He said the department found a good deal on the containers and the City Council provided the money to buy them, but it took several years to figure out how to use them.

“It was Chance’s idea …,” Denton said. “It was always in the back of our minds and we started building this along with the fire academy.”

The department stacked three containers on one side and firefighters worked to cut holes for staircases and windows.

“We have a simulated living room and kitchen downstairs,” Denton said. “We’ll have a sprinkler room in back to simulate sprinklers in a fire. Upstairs we have three rooms that we can change around, move furniture around and we can make one a bathroom. The third floor we can treat it like an attic space, and also have confined space training and entanglement props. We’ve got a deck on the second floor and the very top story and that’s where we can do rappelling and ladder work and high-angle rescue.”

Denton said the bright red tower is a versatile tool, allowing classes to simulate a variety of fire scenarios.

The rooms can be filled with sm

Editor’s note: This is a new series where we ask apparatus chauffeurs a number of questions about their job in a Question and Answer format. If you would like to participate in the Q&A or would like to nominate someone to be featured, please email Jonathan Miller, web editor at FireApparatus.com, with the person’s name and contact information to: Jonathan.Miller@clarionevents.com.

Meet firefighter Alessio Corrente, age 49, Truck Company 1 chauffeur with the Stamford (CT) Fire Department. Corrente has 32 years of service, four as a chauffeur. He started as a volunteer firefighter with the Belltown Fire Department in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1993. Six years later, he became a paid firefighter/relief driver. He was hired by the Stamford Fire Department in February 2006 and became the driver of Truck 1 in September 2021. Corrente operates a 2015 Seagrave 95-foot Aerialscope.

What were the circumstances that led you to becoming an apparatus operator? Is it something you always wanted to do?

The draw to becoming a driver started back to when I was a volunteer firefighter while watching and learning from the senior firefighters in the house and seeing their love and passion for the job.

As a firefighter, my main objective was to learn as much as I could on all the aspects of the job, from being a firefighter, learning each riding position’s duties, to becoming a relief driver on all the apparatus in the department. I felt these things were necessary to accomplish before I considered putting myself in the driver’s seat and making it my own. I have and still take educational classes that I am grateful for.  

I’ve always wanted to be assigned to Truck Company 1 and to eventually be the driver. That was my goal. That is the job that I love!

What was the most challenging part of the training process?

The most challenging part of the training, personally, was that English is my second language. Comprehending everything that the instructor was saying and teaching in a classroom was a challenge, but I tried to excel in the practical portion of it.

The way I look at it is: every time I report to shift and respond to calls is a challenge simply because you never know what the day and the calls will entail when the tones drop. With those calls comes apparatus placement and set up. It is my opinion that the only way you get better and more comfortable is by setting up the apparatus any chance you get. The more times you practice positioning and setting up, the easier it will be when it hits the fan.

How did you overcome that challenge?

The way I overcame the challenges when I was a young buck, regarding my English, was that I never stopped believing in myself. If I did not understand it, I would ask questions, and was not embarrassed for it to be to dumbed downed for me. If I did not do a task right, I would redo it and learn from it until I did it 100% correct.

The way I overcame positioning challenges is by thinking outside the box and learning from my mistakes. Anyone can read a book and learn from it. However, if you don’t get practical experience and take the time to practice placements and setups, then it will be harder to think outside the box and overcome those challenges when arriving on scene at calls. Always use both your head and hands.

Were there any surprises that occurred during training? Were there aspects of the job you didn’t expect?

There are always challenges in training, but I feel the more you train with your apparatus then the more comfortable you will become. I’ve found that if you screw up and learn from your mistakes then you will be fine the next go round.

Renatta Signorini
Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
(TNS)

Nov. 25—A majority of Hempfield supervisors approved a conditional sales agreement for a new fire station in the western part of the township this week over concerns from firefighters in that area who said the location would impact their response time.

Adamsburg Volunteer Fire Department President Ken Wees said the current station is 70 years old and on a dangerous curve on Edna Road, just off Route 30.

He expressed concerns that members of the department were shut out of the decision to locate a new station about 2 1/2 miles south — farther from Route 30 and the majority of their calls.

“Not one of you reached out to discuss it with us,” he told the township supervisors Monday. “So this means now that our people would have to drive farther to get on a fire truck to drive it farther back toward the fire scene. Ridiculous.”

In a 3-2 vote, the board approved the conditional sales agreement to buy property for $375,000 from James C. Durst Jr. at the split of Arona and Harry Long roads, not far from Monkey Wrench and Eisaman roads. Supervisors Jay Anderson, Bill Bretz and Doug Weimer supported the measure.

Supervisor George Reese, who voted against it along with Supervisor Tom Logan, pleaded with the board to delay a vote on the matter for 60 days to allow more time to consider the concerns of numerous firefighters who attended Monday’s meeting.

“We have citizens, we have firemen that are concerned,” he said. “We have to take a step back. The last thing I want to hear is what I heard here tonight.”

Township officials have been searching for more than a year for an appropriate spot to build a new fire station in the western part of Hempfield.

Construction would be funded by $5 million allocated from a 2022 bond.

Last year, officials were given the OK to negotiate a potential deal with Hempfield Area School District on property near West Hempfield Elementary School along Wendel Road. Township Manager Aaron Siko said Monday the proposal fell through for a variety of reasons, including the size of the lot, an underground stormwater drainage system and potential issues with ingress and egress, especially during school drop-off and pickup times.

He said multiple properties in the western part of the township were examined. The 5.3-acre Durst property zoned for agricultural and commercial use was not for sale, but officials sought out interest from the owner because of its location.

There’s a home and a commercial greenhouse on the land that would be demolished if the sale goes through, Siko said.

“The township had no prior relationship with the seller,” he said.

Siko said it was not discussed with Adamsburg firefighters because land acquisition negotiations are considered privileged information.

“We stand by the recommendation we made as far as property is concerned,” Siko said, adding that the sales agreement comes with conditions that allow the township to continue examining the move for a period of time.

But Siko said he expects the township will close on the deal by the end of December.

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