Haddam Fire Attends CT Fire Academy June Fire School

Why would you want to quickly jump head first onto a ladder from a second floor, to descend as quickly as possible?  Would you want to do this wearing about 75 pounds of fire gear?  Would you want to do this all while breathing from an air pack and having your mask blacked out so you cannot see?  This was part of the training for members of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Co. who attended various classes at the 2012 CT Fire Academy June Fire School.  9 members took time off from work and school to attend 8 different classes.

The “bail-outs” mentioned above were part of the Safety and Survival course teaching Firefighters techniques for when conditions get so bad that only seconds are available to escape, often down ladders or off of higher floors with only a small rope to help ease the fall. 

Four members took a Rapid Intervention course designed to sharpen the skills needed to rescue downed Firefighters.  Six members took a course on recognizing the signs and understanding when a room may flash over, causing the temperature to rise to an inhabitable 1,300 degrees or more.  Part of the Flashover course is participating in a live fire exercise in a specially built room that actually produces a flashover right above the heads of the students, so they can see the layers of smoke push down towards them, and allows them to witness the development of conditions in the real world that could seriously hurt them.

“Being in the Flashover simulator is just like being on a movie set – you can’t believe what it is like,” said Firefighter Rob Lenois III who participated in 4 separate courses over the course of the week.  “We are a great functioning team because we got to work together in each of the roles,” said Rob Goldfarb about working with Firefighters Lenois, Sapia and Bates during Rapid Intervention Team training.  “That was the hardest evolution I have ever had to do in any course I’ve ever taken,” said 2^nd Assistant Chief Bob Norton of the Friday course on the use of self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) for advanced users.  He had just gone through “the weeper,” a maze located on the 3^rd floor of the training tower at the Academy designed to trap Firefighters, forcing them to manage their air consumption and self extrication techniques.

While courses run throughout the year at the Academy, each June an entire week is devoted to bringing in the best instructors, and arranging the classes so that students can interact, view exhibits, network with each other, and learn a lot about specific areas that Firefighters need to know.

More information on the activities of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Co. and ways you can get involved can be found on our website – www.HaddamFire.com.