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Student reflects on fighting the Crow Peak Fire
Left to right: Nicholas Pappas and Gerald Draine tag hydrants, pumping trucks, and charging attack lines during a training with the Spearfish Volunteer Fire Department. Pappas, an environmental physical science and business major at Black Hills State University originally from Jefferson Township, N.J., was one of several hundred people who fought the Crow Peak Fire this summer.
Spearfish volunteer firefighter Nicholas Pappas was riding his motorcycle in June when he received a page about the Crow Peak Fire.
Pappas, an environmental physical science and business major at Black Hills State University, helped fight the Crow Peak Fire during two night shifts and a day shift on the Fourth of July.
"I wanted to be part of the effort," said Pappas, also a summer intern with the BHSU Sustainability office. "I learned a lot from seeing how the incident command structure worked in a true emergency."
During the night shifts on Crow Peak, Pappas and his team were tasked with structure protection. The firefighters stationed engines by Crow Creek and other areas where homes where in danger of fire damage. Pappas said the team also knocked on doors to inform the public and keep those living in the area updated on progress.
"During the day we helped pump the tank for the helicopters to get water out of our staging area. Tender trucks pulled water from hydrants in town and we had another staging area going to Iron Creek for water," said Pappas.
Originally from New Jersey, Pappas applied to be part of the Spearfish Volunteer Department only a month after he relocated to the Black Hills. He had volunteered with Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in New Jersey and said he wanted fire experience.
"Volunteering with the Fire Department isnt only about going on the calls," said Pappas. "From the trainings, to cooking for the pancake feed, to fighting the fire on Crow Peak, it's about showing up and being part of the community."
Spearfish volunteer firefighter Nicholas Pappas was riding his motorcycle in June when he received a page about the Crow Peak Fire.
Pappas, an environmental physical science and business major at Black Hills State University, helped fight the Crow Peak Fire during two night shifts and a day shift on the Fourth of July.
"I wanted to be part of the effort," said Pappas, also a summer intern with the BHSU Sustainability office. "I learned a lot from seeing how the incident command structure worked in a true emergency."
During the night shifts on Crow Peak, Pappas and his team were tasked with structure protection. The firefighters stationed engines by Crow Creek and other areas where homes where in danger of fire damage. Pappas said the team also knocked on doors to inform the public and keep those living in the area updated on progress.
"During the day we helped pump the tank for the helicopters to get water out of our staging area. Tender trucks pulled water from hydrants in town and we had another staging area going to Iron Creek for water," said Pappas.
Originally from New Jersey, Pappas applied to be part of the Spearfish Volunteer Department only a month after he relocated to the Black Hills. He had volunteered with Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in New Jersey and said he wanted fire experience.
"Volunteering with the Fire Department isnt only about going on the calls," said Pappas. "From the trainings, to cooking for the pancake feed, to fighting the fire on Crow Peak, it's about showing up and being part of the community."
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