SOUTH POINT — After a brief hiatus, the Lawrence County Firefighters Association is bringing back its fire school, a weekend full of training open to firefighters throughout the region.

The school is scheduled for Sept. 31 and Oct. 1. Some classes will be at South Point High School, while others will be at The Point industrial park on U.S. 52. Registration and class sign-ins begin each morning at 7 a.m. and wrap up at approximately 5 p.m.

Mike Boster, Rome Volunteer Department Fire Chief, said he and a committee of about six others saw a need to bring back the school and started working on the project about six months ago.

The county firefighters stopped sponsoring the school in the late 1990s.

“We all know that it’s important to have training. And, it’s good to know who your fellow firefighters are because there will be cases where you will be working side-by-side,” Boster explained.

He said the issues that will be covered during the training will be of local interest — common problems that many local departments share.

A variety of classes will be offered for firefighters of all skill levels. Classes will include basic auto extrication — or passenger rescue — water pump maintenance, medical landing zone procedures and others. There also will be a class on understanding fire behavior, including a “live burn” simulated, controlled fire that will provide hands-on training.

“These will be unique things, specific issues that we are facing locally in our county. There are some issues that will be covered that the local chiefs have been dealing with and have discussed,” Boster said.

The fire school will fulfill many of the yearly training requirements that each department has.

The group is also hoping to start a massive public awareness and recruitment drive in October coinciding with National Fire Prevention Week the first week of the month. They are hoping to get more people to help out the county’s 16 volunteer departments, whether it be on the front lines fighting fires or helping other ways at the stations and in the communities the departments serve.