Out of the heat into the fire!

Recruits endure hot summer training

PEA RIDGE — It was hot and sunny June 24 as nearly a dozen new firefighter recruits joined seasoned firefighting veterans at Station No. 2 in Pea Ridge for training.

During the lessons, firefighters removed their gear, heavily insulated pants and jackets, helmets and gloves, and sat in the shade of a canopy, resting from the previous exercises. Soon, they would suit up, donning their gear, and head into the smoky, hot training building practicing rescue and fire extinguishing.

Pea Ridge Fire Chief Jack Wassman and Bella Vista Fire Division Chief Scott Cranford shared lessons, preparing the men for the exercises ahead.

“If you want to firefight, you have to prepare,” Cranford said.

“If you’re worn out, go to rehab. Rehab is not to camp out for the next four or five hours. It’s about 10, 15, 20 minutes to prepare yourself, to cool off,” Cranford said, reminding them to take care of themselves physically. “Firefighters, you don’t want to be on the scene two, three, four hours and be worn out and go out on another call and be a mess the next day. You need to do it quickly, efficiently. If you can’t carry a small body out of a fire, let alone the same size body, you need to get yourself into shape.

“It’s a lifelong challenge,” he said.

“When you called for medical … it went very, very well,” Wassman said, during the evaluation of the previous exercise.

The training center at Fire Station No. 2 is a two-story building made of metal containers. Pallets and hay are set on fire to create fire and smoke inside the building to simulate a structure fire.

All rookies worked at rolling and unrolling hose, throwing a tarp, entering the smoking building and finding and removing any “persons” which during training were two mannequins — one a 165-pound adult and one an infant.

“Understand how to fold it, how to throw it,” Wassman said. “That’s what we’re here for.”

The tarps are used for salvage and overhaul, he said, explaining it’s often used to preserve belongings inside the structure.

When it was time for an exercise, rookies put on gear which includes a Nomex hood that covers any exposed skin and seals the areas around the face and neck beneath the helmet. They don gloves, pants, jackets and helmets as well as the self-contained breathing apparatus.

“It’s like an oven,” Wassman said with temperatures ranging from 350 to 400 degrees inside the building.

Taking Firefighter 1 and 2 courses for Pea Ridge are Chris Hunt, Alex Blevins, Riley Heasley, Clayton Bass, Shane Henson and Ben Osowiecki.

“Houses are just boxes. Box here. Box here. Box here,” Cranford said as he instructed rookies to work their way to the left in the smoke-filled building.

The rookie firefighters have been studying every Thursday for the past several months, Wassman said. The training includes lessons, quizzes, tests and practical exercises. The next lesson they will undertake will be extrication from an automobile, an exercise in Bella Vista.

Annette Beard may be reached by email at [email protected] .

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