The door opens and you feel the rush of heat while smoke pours out. You crawl in to the black void. The smoke is so thick that it banks completely down to the floor. You cannot see anything, only feel the heat. As you press on into the darkness you are driven down to the floor by the heat. Your helmet and the top of your head feel as if they are melting. As you crawl you make wide circles with your hands and feet, feeling your way deeper into the structure and searching for victims. As you advance you take a mental note of where you think you are in the house, knowing that at any second you may need to call for help or radio your position to those on the outside.
“Fire department, anyone in here?!?! Can you hear me?” you yell out, just to make sure no one is inside.
Your voice sounds distorted through the voice amplifier of your mask. Soon, you hear chainsaws fire up on the roof and know that it won’t be long until they have cut holes in the attic, letting the smoke escape. The sound inside is deafening and you can barely hear your partner yelling from behind you. You fight your way to the seat of the fire and open the nozzle, releasing 175 gallons per minute into the inferno. As the fire is extinguished, the water you sprayed turns to steam and drives the superheated gases from the ceiling down on to you. The smoke lifts and you can see again. Your heart is pounding, you’re drenched, and exhausted. It’s time to change out your air tank before you go in to clean up.
(The video below is from our recent training)
All firefighters want to make a difference. We hope that when the bell rings that we get that chance to help. If it’s from a burning building or a heart attack it makes no difference. It’s our privilege to serve the community, and our skills are of the highest caliber because we have dedicated our lives to service.
Do you need an CPR Class? Let our professional instructors train you from their first hand experience.
