Heroes in training

This past weekend in Humboldt saw cars blowing up in flames, passengers extricated from burning vehicles, firefighters shimmying up ladders and victims being pulled from houses in valiant search and rescue efforts.


Luckily, all of the above scenarios were simulated events during the spring session of the Saskatchewan Volunteer Fighterfighter's Association (SVFFA) fire school.


Twice a year, the SVFFA hosts its fire school training courses at locations across Saskatchewan, with volunteer firefighters from all over the province attending; Humboldt was picked as the host for the spring session this year.


Beginning on Friday evening, April 25, participants officially registered at the Uniplex, where the bulk of the courses would occur; some in-class programs kicked off and a trade show was set up in the curling rink, where it would remain throughout the weekend.


The 13 different programs are geared toward specific levels of volunteer firefighting, from beginners to advanced; for instance, the level one orientation course on safety and fire behavior was lecture-based, while other more intermediate programs like vehicle extrication were hands-on, simulating real life scenarios.


"We're teaching these firefighters about new car technology," said Erik Foster, a volunteer firefighter in Colonsay, as participants, decked out from head to toe in their uniforms gathered around a car to learn why some equipment and extrication techniques are no longer applicable to newer vehicles.


A little ways down from this program outside the Uniplex was a similar program on auto extrication, and later in the afternoon on Saturday, other courses were taking place including one on safely extinguishing a burning vehicle, and another one called ground ladders, ropes and knots.


Using the roof of the Uniplex, students were taught how to identify, carry, inspect and climb fire service ladders, and how to properly knot the various types of rope used in fire service.


Volunteer firefighters from all across the province, extending from Southey to La Ronge, from Hague to Humboldt, looked on as their instructors, volunteer fire chiefs from various Saskatchewan departments, led the classes.


"This group -everyone here- is the backbone of firefighting in Saskatchewan," said fire chief Ron Pratt of the La Ronge Fire Department.


Pratt, with the help of deputy fire chief Dale Feser of Estevan, was leading a course on emergency escape and self rescue during fire fighting.


The course used the outside of the Humboldt & District Museum as a backdrop for the drills, which focused on recognizing potential fire safety dangers at a call, and ways to avoid endangering your own life.


"I even added some teachings that are a little unorthodox but are really effective measures to save one's own life," said Pratt, who designed the course 15 years ago. Pratt himself is a 37-year veteran of the La Ronge Fire Department.


At an abandoned house a few kilometres out of town, students of the fire school were belly crawling across the floor boards, wax paper pasted to their masks to obstruct their vision, in a simulated lesson on removing victims from a burning structure.


Using their hands to feel around the structure, three participants packed into a tiny bedroom, where a victim (played by one of the students) was trapped.


"There's no door handle," said deputy fire chief Scott Debienne of the Carrot River Fire Department, pointing to the closed door to the bedroom. "Sometimes firefighters get into situations where they've forgotten their tools or can't find them and so what do you do when you come across a shut door with no handle? We want to complicate this scenario as best we can," he explained.


As the search and rescue was taking place, the three firefighters were assessing the situation and figuring out how to get the victim out of the room.


One suggested going out the window.


"The window's not in play, guys," Debienne, who was overseeing the lesson, called out to the students.


"Like I said, we want to make sure we present them with the most challenging scenario possible," Debienne explained.

"Sometimes, you can use the window as an exit but a lot of the time, you'll get into a room where that's not possible. So we want these guys to learn how to get out of the room if there's no door handle."


After manoevering their way out of the room, one of the firefighters ran out of oxygen.


"Well, he just ran out of air," Debienne said. "So now they have a victim to rescue, plus one of their own men."


Debienne explained that as a firefighter, the perils of firefighting is not just limited to rescuing victims, but of putting your own life in danger as well.


"This will happen where the victim count goes up because one of their fellow officers need to be rescued too," he said.


"When it's a really bad blaze, firefighters can easily get disoriented," Debienne said, explaining that when the smoke becomes increasingly heavier, a firefighter will quickly lose a sense of direction due to lack of visibility.


Studies conducted by Occupational Health and Safety show that disorientation typically precedes a firefighter fatality, which is why it's so critical to rescue victims and get out of the building as quickly as possible before the smoke has a chance to burgeon.


"There was one time where one of the firefighters was trapped inside a burning building and was so confused and disoriented, he couldn't figure out where the exit was. Well, he finally made it to the window and his fellow firefighters watched as he turned around and went back inside the flames. He had no idea where he was and he died."


That's another reason why the SVFFA seeks to create complex, real-life scenarios for their students; taking in all the programs, it was obvious that each student takes the lessons seriously, as though the simulations were a real-life event that they were participating in.


During the structural search and rescue program that Debienne was helping to conduct, the students were barking orders over their speakers, calling out instructions, reassuring support to each other, all as they felt their way around the tiny house's corners.


"Every house has its own set of difficulties," Debienne said, when asked if a smaller house is harder to navigate because of its sharp corners.


"With larger houses, of course there's more space to address, and smaller houses may have tight corners or narrow hallways that are difficult to work through."


He walked over and tied a chain hanging from the ceiling to one of the firefighter's oxygen pack as he was attempting to drag one of the victims out of the room.


"A lot of the time in a fire situation, cables or wires will start falling from the ceiling and get entangled in a firefighter's uniform, which creates even more difficulty. So we'll take any opportunity to recreate those challenges," Debienne said.


The three-day fire school capped off with a dinner banquet at the Bella Vista Inn on Saturday, and the remaining classes on Sunday morning.


It's estimated that about 218 volunteer firefighters took part in the various programs; the fall 2014 fire school will be hosted in the Shellbrook/Prince Albert area in October.