As with any job, although you may know the basics of the position, training is always needed to make sure that you stay up to date in your industry of choice. Same goes for Chestermere Fire Services who spent this past week topping up their skills.
Members of Chestermere Fire Services spent November 23rd, 25th, 27th and 29th at the Calgary Fire Department Training Grounds executing dealing with live fires. “The Calgary Fire Department Training Grounds have an established burn tower that allows for a myriad of evolutions to be practiced. The only limitation is the amount of hours in the day, so it is a great location for us to practice our craft”, explained Senior Fire Fighter with Chestermere Fire Service, Joel Fournie.
Fournie explained that trainings like this are for all members of the department..no matter how many years you’ve been a firefighter. “Training helps all ranks hone their skills and share their knowledge with other team members. It’s also a great morale booster when everyone comes together as a team”.
And a team they definitely are. At one of my visits out to watch them in action this past week, I was equipped with a radio so that I could hear how they communicate with each other and also with dispatch. From the moment the call comes in, there is a constant stream of information being shared. Obvious details such as where the fire is and the type of structure it is but also details on how many and what type of trucks have left the station, how close they are on arrival and when they have arrived at the scene. From that point the dialog continues explaining how many firefighters have entered the structure and describing what is happening right up to when the fire is out and the building is clear. Team work at its best.
Following extinguishing the fire, ensuring the building is secure and clear, the participating members then gathered up and would discuss the exercise. They go over every second of the call from the time dispatch notified them from the time it was over and also discuss what they could do better and what they would execute in the next exercise.
When asked what the goal of these types of live fire trainings are, Senior Fire Fighter Fournie explained, “Researchers at Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a global independent safety science company, have concluded that homes today burn eight times faster than in past decades. In fact, flashover, the point when intense heat causes an entire room to become engulfed in flames, now occurs less than five minutes after a fire starts. It used to take 30 minutes or longer for flashover to occur! This means that people have far less time to safely exit a home. It also means that Firefighters need to be even more proficient in their job and executing their function in the safest, most efficient means possible. Our goal with live fire training is to prepare our members for these challenges, ranging from incident command and communications to suppression, search patters, and of course rescue”.
The training, at an outsiders glance, looks much like a dangerous hide and go seek game. “Rescue Randy”, the departments dummy is placed inside the burn tower during these trainings and the goal is to also get him out of the building…and make sure that all fire fighters that entered the building get out as well. But despite the concept staying the same, Fournie explained the importance of continually training. “Due to the ever-changing environment in which we fight fires, it is critically important that our members stay current in their live fire suppression and rescue practices. We strive to put our members through live fire a minimum of twice per year to adequately prepare them for the challenges of firefighting”.
“Training is a never-ending practice at CFS. There are always new courses coming available throughout the province that we try to capitalize on and have members engage in, including but not limited to: vehicle extrication, fire investigation, professional driving, water rescue, ice rescue, basic safety codes, fire officer training, fire instructor training, etc. The possibilities really are endless. Training and improvement are an important element that we have built into the culture here at CFS and believe that each of our members should always strive to better themselves and expand their knowledge whenever possible”.
Seeing how the members work so well together, and if you’ve ever seen them attend a real life fire, you know that the well-oiled machine that is CFS always has the safety of Chestermere’s residents as its first priority.
