Citizen’s Fire Academy Students Finish Course With “Final Burn”

Clad in borrowed turnout gear, an enthusiastic and grinning Patti Deasy-Peifer rushes up a Washington County hillside, shouting out “My baby, my baby.” Under picturesque skies and cool conditions, a smiling Joan Mursko hands over the soot-soaked, plastic toddler she just retrieved from the third floor of a smoky cement building. The scene was repeated over and over again on Saturday, November 2 as the Citizen’s Fire Academy’s “Final Burn” took place.

Nearly two dozen citizens from Castle Shannon, Dormont and Mt. Lebanon (and nearby communities) participated in the Fire Academy, which is largely used as a recruitment and community outreach exercise for the Volunteer Fire Departments. Castle Shannon currently counts 60 active volunteer fire fighters, Dormont can have as many as 30 and Mt. Lebanon has 45 volunteers (in addition to 17 career firefighters).

Since September 11, residents have met on Wednesdays and some Saturdays to learn about the science of fire with Mt. Lebanon Lieutenant Chris Switala, how to break down doors as well as set off extinguishers with Kris Sweigert and hoses with instructor Bob Fischer. Dormont Firefighter 1st Class Tina Cook instructed students on how to effectively use leverage to lift, post and position ladders for rescues. Other highlights of the class included hiking the 75-degree, 100-foot ladder on a fire truck with Castle Shannon Lieutenant Rick Tomnay, climbing through a crashed sedan for an extraction and tearing off the doors of a 1993 Cadillac.  

Deasy-Peifer, of Brookline, joined the class at the urging of her husband, Rob, who already serves as a Castle Shannon Fire Fighter. Others like Mursko, of Mt. Lebanon, joined to see what the volunteer position entails and whether it was something she wanted to pursue further.

Some 30 positions were available free of charge to residents. Students ranging in age from 17 to 71 started the class at Mt. Lebanon Fire Department. They toured Dormont’s department and the Allegheny County 9-1-1 Communications Center in Point Breeze. They also shadowed firefighters on ride-alongs in Castle Shannon and Mt. Lebanon. If there weren’t any emergency calls during those scheduled times, students were able to learn about equipment on the trucks and the purpose of each vehicle.

During one session, the South Hills Area Council of Governments (SHACOG) Emergency Response Team taught students how they are trained to save victims of foundation cave-ins, sink hole falls and other unique, high-risk rescues. In addition, students tried on Hazmat suits and learned how to use them.

Approximately seven members took an additional CPR and AED class that was offered in Mt. Lebanon.

The departments have been hosting the Fire Academy for a number of years. Last year’s class featured 13 students and about four joined the volunteer ranks, according to organizers.

As part of the “Final Burn,” residents divided into four teams, suited up in turn-out gear and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and responded to a simulated fire with engine sirens and lights blaring. They jumped off trucks and took part in every aspect of the call from the fire hydrant to clearing theatrical smoke from a mock living room. They also took turns saving the baby doll Mt. Lebanon resident Cathy Edwards dubbed “Vesta,” after the sacred fire of Greek Mythology.

Students learned how to transverse through their smoky environment by touch and keeping low while instructors provided guidance. Deasy-Peifer high-fived her teammates after being the first to find the doll.

In the afternoon, students geared up for a live, controlled burn in the basement of the training facility. Instructors set hay bales and wooden pallets ablaze, sending temperatures in excess of 800 degrees. Students watched as flames in search of oxygen rolled up the cement ceiling and throughout the room. After an initial introduction to the fire, many students returned for a second visit. They were instructed to crawl on their hands and knees near the fire. Students such as Mt. Lebanon’s Jesus Rios said they “loved it.”

Petrea Rieck Graham of Mt. Lebanon told a videographer if she were 25, she’d immediately join the firefighter family. Despite not being the youngest participant, she reveled in the experience nonetheless.

Some students like Stacey Blodgett Altman, a Scott Township Commissioner, took the class to learn more about a firefighter’s role in the community. She was encouraged to take instruction through Fischer, who works as a Building Inspector in the township. Edwards, a transplant from California, wanted to learn more about her new neighborhood and Dawn Russ a Greentree resident, took the class at the urging of a friend.

Students also learned how to roll up the hoses, pack them away and secure other equipment.

Several students are contemplating joining their hometown departments or what they may try next.

Tomnay says that plans are already underway for next year’s class. The students will take part in a graduation ceremony this coming Friday night at the Castle Shannon Volunteer Fire Department.

There’s no word on what happened to baby doll Vesta or how she enjoyed the class.