Troy Gibbs is excited. On Saturday, her efforts over the last several months will finally come to fruition with the official start of the Alexandria Fire Department’s safety battalion, and Gibbs is the acting chief. The program’s spark was cast last year following the injuries of several city firefighters and the arrival of a new chief. What role will the safety battalion play? We have been in need of more safety in the department. We’ve been very good at keeping citizens safe, but have not been doing a good of keeping our own safe. For us to do a good job all the time, we have to be able to keep ourselves safe and make sure each person goes home at the end of the day. How will the battalion improve safety? We will now have safety officers on duty during each shift and they will arrive on the scenes of major incidents, working under the direction of the field commander. Their job will be to look out for the safety of the firefighters while the firefighters are looking out for the safety of the citizens. The safety officers will also train department members to better protect themselves from harm. … The safety officers have spent the last few months training with other departments so they’re ready to hit the ground running. Are you nervous? I’m excited to get this thing up and running. There’s so many issues that will be sure to pop up and so much to cover, like making sure firefighters are wearing their seat belts and stopping at red lights. If we can improve their training and make them better equipped, then they’ll be better off. How did you become interested in fighting fires? It started years ago when I was in college and a volunteer ambulance driver. After working in another department, I came to Alexandria in 1991 because I liked the area more and it’s proximity to the metro area.
