Wednesday, September 4, 2002
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Wednesday, September 4, 2002 |
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Fayette County fire recruits feel the heat
By JOHN
MUNFORD
The 90 degree summer heat doesn't begin to compare to the temperatures battled by 10 Fayette County firefighting recruits as they went through their week of burn training. They faced 300-plus degrees of heat in the three-story concrete oven otherwise known as Fayette County's "burn building," a fire training facility. The idea is to throw the newbies in the flames with considerable training and safety measures in place so they know how to react when faced with a real-life structure fire. "It's like nothing you've ever seen before," says one recruit. That's likely because it's hard to see through all the smoke, points out another. "It's pitch black. You can't see your hand right in front of your face." They learn to stay low to the ground, sweeping the area with their arms and tools, trying to find and rescue victims, in this case a large section of fire hose. This isn't your typical grade school fire drill. For one, the rookies have already been through six weeks of classroom oriented training, learning the characteristics of fire and special techniques. In the burn building, they get to apply those techniques first hand. One rookie firefighter already has a nice blister along his face from where his flame-retardant hood pulled back for a brief second at the wrong time. Such scars are almost a matter of pride with this hearty bunch, as another recruit shows off a burn scar on his right leg. The recruits crawl into the smoking burn building wearing about 40 pounds of gear, including their breathing apparatus, which lasts for up to 30 minutes. After the oxygen tank is depleted, out comes the first crew, looking a bit weary as a replacement crew enters to fight the flames. "Out here you learn how hard you can push yourself," says one recruit. The physical training regimen of Capt. Jimmy Hall since day one has played a role in enhancing the mens' stamina when taking on the burn building. "Richard Simmons ain't got nothing on him," joked one recruit. Hall called this recruit class "a good group" and while endurance plays a significant role, he says the most important thing firefighters need to remember when they enter a burning building is "don't panic." "It's about team integrity and staying with your team," Hall said, noting the importance for firefighters to work close together when entering burning structures. "It's absolutely different in there," Hall said. "The anxiety sets in." All is calm after everybody makes it out of the burn building in one piece after the final drill of the day. But what convinced these men, ranging in ages from 19 to 32, to enter the fire service? "You won't find a job with as much self-satisfaction as this," says one recruit, to the agreement of the others. "You're doing something worthwhile." After graduating from rookie school, these men will work 24 hours on, 48 hours off. And they'll eventually become EMTs, a requirement in Fayette County, and perhaps some will go on for their paramedic certification.
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