The Arkansas Forestry Commission is finalizing plans for the 11th annual Arkansas Fire Boat School.
More than 215 firefighters are registered for this year's training event, which is scheduled Saturday on DeGray Lake. More than 70 others will participate as volunteers, instructors and scenario coordinators.
The Arkansas Forestry Commission established the Arkansas Fire Boat Committee to help distribute fire boats from the Rural Fire Program in Greenbrier. The training event was developed as a requirement for all crews that requested and received a fire boat from the commission.
Since then, the Fire Boat School has come to include agencies, fire departments and emergency crews from across the state as well as Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Citizens are also invited to watch volunteers train as a single fleet in simulated emergencies.