Members of Oklahoma Senate tour Fire Service Training facility

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

(STILLWATER, Okla., September 1, 2015) – Fire Service Training (FST) hosted a tour of its facility and operations for Oklahoma Senators and staff members Wednesday, Aug. 19.

Ed Kirtley, assistant dean of CEAT outreach and extension, said FST has been doing this event for several years for a couple of different reasons.

“First and foremost, this gives us an opportunity to put a ‘face’ on FST for the decision makers – they hear about our programs and read our written reports but actually seeing our facility and meeting our staff makes our program real and personal,” Kirtley said. “The better the elected officials understand who we are and the impact we make on their communities, the more likely they are to support us when it comes time to handle the budget and other non-financial policies.”

This event also gives the Oklahoma Senate an opportunity to share their concerns and needs with FST.

“Once the sessions starts, it is very difficult to have an informal conversation about needs and services,” Kirtley explained. “In terms of building political support, this is one of the most important events of the year.”

The OSU Regents Office sponsored the event with Jessica Russell and Robert White serving as advocates during the tour.

“Sen. Don Barrington (R-Lawton) is also an advocate of the tour and the FST program,” Kirtley said. “Since he is a retired fire chief, he understands the importance of what we do.”

Oklahoma State University’s FST has a legislative mandate to train Oklahoma’s emergency responders and provide them with adequate training ranging from basic skills to more advanced, specialized techniques.

The FST tour is a way to show legislators firsthand how their resources are being applied to further the training of Oklahoma’s first responders. Visit ceat.okstate.edu for recent news on outreach and extension.

RELEASE CONTACT: Chelsea Robinson | CEAT Marketing | 405-744-5831 | Chelsea.l.robinson@okstate.edu

Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant university that prepares students for success. OSU has more than 36,000 students across its five-campus system and more than 25,000 on its combined Stillwater and Tulsa campuses, with students from all 50 states and around 120 nations. Established in 1890, Oklahoma State has graduated more than 260,000 students who have been serving Oklahoma and the world for 125 years.