Jimmy Ellis Training Weekend returns with all-time high number of trainees
CRANBERRY — To honor late Cpt. Jimmy Ellis’s passion for firefighting training, the local firefighting community formed the Jimmy Ellis Firefighter Foundation in 2023.
What started with a few dozen students at the foundation’s first Jimmy Ellis Training Weekend brought about 300 participants from 16 different states this year, and even two from Canada.
“We're trying to find out who traveled the farthest,” said Dave Moore, vice president of the Jimmy Ellis Foundation.
On Friday, Aug. 14, lessons at the fourth annual event commenced at the Pittsburgh Marriott North in Cranberry Township.
“Every year, it's gotten dramatically bigger,” said Jason Safreed, president of the Jimmy Ellis Firefighter Foundation and of the Adams Area Fire District. “We're getting a broader reach and it's also progressed to be more streamlined.”
The program began with a welcome event on Thursday night. The day was mostly for staff and instructors to debrief, but the social in the evening featured remarks from Candace Ashby, a 30-year veteran of the Indianapolis Fire Department.
“Last night was the biggest turnout we've had since we started this,” Moore said Friday.
Starting at 8 a.m., Friday entailed a day of lectures and seminars for participants concluding at 4 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday, participants traveled to 12 different locations for a variety of hands-on trainings.
Twenty-seven classes covered various skills, including responding to live burns, rapid intervention, vehicle extraction and rope rescue, Moore said.
The organizers obtained five buildings in Cranberry Township to train in, Moore said. He added the sites help put together a more grounded training experience for students than prop buildings.
“We're offering these folks the best training they can get in this area and it's unbelievable to see how this is going,” he said.
Evening socials were scheduled for both Friday and Saturday. On Friday, students and instructors gathered at Stick City Brewing in Mars, which used to be a firehouse station building, Safreed said. On Saturday, the group convened at Recon Brewing in Cranberry.
“Ultimately, (the goal) is to raise money, so we can keep doing this and also help other firefighters,” Safreed said.
Ellis, a 32-year veteran volunteer firefighter, was the vice president of Adams Area Fire District at the time of his death in 2022, when he was just 49 years old.
“Jimmy was huge on training,” Safreed said. “It didn't matter if you were new or had been in service for many years — he was all about training.”
“He was a great guy,” Moore said. “He was a fireman's fireman. If you picture that firefighter in your head, it was Jimmy Ellis.”
Since 2023, the foundation has preserved Ellis’ drive for training, both through the annual weekend event and by helping raise funds for firefighters.
“We help firefighters in need financially,” Moore said.
The organization also offers scholarships, equipment and financial aid to fire departments that are struggling.
A training event of this sort is also important for communities, Safreed said.
“As our communities in this area grow, things are changing,” he said. “We need to grow with that.”
Moore said organizers are going with the flow rather than trying to adhere to a strict vision for the future.
“This year has jumped dramatically from last year,” he said. “And (so has) the workload.
“Nobody’s getting paid for any stuff. It's all volunteering. It takes a village, literally.”
Spending is also a factor. While the students are charged for the weekend, it is less than what they would typically pay for training of this type, Moore said.
For the time being, he said 350 is around the cap for the number for participants in terms of what is manageable.
“I know some of the guys probably disagree,” Moore said. “They want to try to hit that 500 mark, but we’d have to start looking at other venues and really expand.”
