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Area 30 firefighting students get their trial by fire
While it got hot watching how flames “dance” on the ceiling in a flashover scenario last November, Area 30’s fire and rescue students recently put their grit and preparation to a real-world test.
With firefighters from multiple departments on hand to do it with them, Tyler Adams, Nathaniel York, Kaleb Persinger, Malachi Fish and Ryan Walton participated in a live fire exercise at the fire training ground in Greencastle last weekend.
Apart from the live fire exercise, firefighters also conducted a vent-enter-isolate-search (VEIS) exercise at the same time.
When it is needed, a firefighter will climb up to a window and open it to vent a room. He or she will crawl through the window, find the door on hands and knees and shut it so that the room is isolated from the fire. The firefighter will then locate the victim, after which both would escape from the window.
It was noted that a VEIS operation is only done if it is firmly believed that someone is trapped in a particular room. Besides not knowing what obstacles to expect, it can be a dangerous course of action, as opening the window can extend a flow path from which a fire could grow significantly.
While VEIS was solely search and rescue, the live fire exercise detailed fire attack and suppression.
Going through the paces gauged their being able to work calmly and efficiently under high stress, as well as tackle issues which could be unique to any given response. This is while they would have to ensure their own safety as well as that of their fellow firefighters and others on the fireground.
In full turnout gear and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBAs), they would go into the container with a fire hose in two teams. With the instructors close by, the lead in the line would hit the fire with water before they backed away and rotated. Each would have their turn with the nozzle before the fire was extinguished.
Putting out the fire might seem intuitive here. But there are many elements which factor into going inside in the first place, not least the sweltering temperature and the combined weight of their equipment.
Though in a controlled setting, the exercise nonetheless simulated a working fire in which lives and property would otherwise be at stake. For Adams, though, just how hot it got was unexpected.
“You come from one area where it’s dark and you feel like, ‘Oh, this is all right,’ and then you come up the stairs and you’re like, ‘Oh, OK, now I’m getting a little sunburn going on,’” he said.
Apart from what they have studied in the classroom, the exercise was a critical part of their instruction as firefighters. It stressed decision-making and being aware of their surroundings as much as their physical capacity to attack a fire. This was their opportunity to put these skills into practice.
“When you come out here, you need to find your own tricks to do it,” Adams said. “You gotta pick up on how to change and react quickly.”
The biggest challenge for Adams and his classmates was effective communication. This meant figuring out how to shout so they could hear each other, and he also emphasized making sure that everyone in the line was ready to go in.
Ultimately, much of what they will do as firefighters has to be about teamwork.
“I think your mindset really needs to be at the fire; we need to put that fire out,” Adams said. “Your mindset’s just ‘Do your job.’ We’re not going in one-person. You’re all checking each other out. That’s your partner, that’s your friend.”
Area 30’s fire and rescue class has been led by Greencastle firefighter James Shaw and retired Indianapolis firefighter Joel Crawley. Adams and York are Greencastle students, Persinger and Fish are from North Putnam and Walton is a student at Cloverdale.