Document text
Firefighters sharpen lifesaving skills during Central Point drill Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Fire District 3 firefighters Mike Calhoun, left, and Phil Cardinal work on resuscitating "victim" Douglas Spaulding during a practice drill Saturday at Gazebo Works Too in Central Point. Spaulding, also a firefighter, was playing the role of an injured crew member. By JILL BRISKEY CENTRAL POINT � Early Saturday morning, a fully geared crew from Fire District 3 responded to the one report no firefighter ever wants to hear. Two men down, came the call; both trapped inside a burning commercial building on Rainbow Drive. Even the knowledge that the smoke from the "blaze" was simulated and the call was just a drill didn�t lessen the seriousness of the training exercise, according to Battalion Chief Rod Edwards. "It�s very important. It�s something relatively new." Edwards said of drill. "There�s been a serious push recently to train firefighters how to save their own." In the past, Edwards said crews would just read-up on rescue procedures involving fellow firefighters. However, fatalities in other states and increased awareness prompted Fire District 3 officials to formulate a plan and practice it, Edwards added. Inside Gazebo Works Too � a business which allows Fire District 3 to conduct its drills on site � Saturday�s rescue crew followed an abandoned hose line into the pitch black, smoky building in order to rescue the two victims. One man was trapped under wooden debris set up to resemble a fallen ceiling, Edwards said. Firefighters used equipment to lift the boards and pull the victim to safety. Another crew was forced to chop their way through a simulated wall to reach the other victim. The simulation and training exercise was designed to teach firefighters rescue protocol � a subject Edwards said nobody likes to talk about. "We�re pretty well-schooled when it comes to rescuing civilians," Edwards said. "Nobody likes to think about it, no one likes to practice it, but what happens if someone goes down? This is situation we need to prepared for." Volunteer firefighter Antony Cristofaro helped set up the simulation exercise inside the warehouse. He noted that nothing has the potential to panic a trained firefighter like the report of a downed crew member. "Their eyes get huge when the call comes in. People could start running around, there could be confusion," Cristofaro said. "They can end up being victims themselves. It will happen eventually. You want to think here, it�s not going to happen, but it could." Firefighter Joe Pariera, one of the "victims," said the drill was a necessary exercise that helped the crew focus on team work and procedure. "The training is good because it goes through the motions," he said. "But you can�t simulate the other factors in a fire, the heat, the humidity, the adrenaline rush. This is as close as you can safely get." Despite a few jokes after the exercise ended, crew members acknowledged the gravity involved. "It gets very emotional," Firefighter Douglas Spaudling said of the drill. "You know it can happen so easily. It can happen any day." Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.