With a shout of “1, 2, 3!” firefighters in Oconto Falls lifted first a mannequin and then a series of firefighters to safety Thursday night, rehearsing a technique that simulated a basement-to-first-floor rescue of an unconscious victim. Next, they practiced the window-exit rescue of an unconscious victim from a tight space.
Both exercises were completed at the Fire Department’s new training facility, located behind the fire station. After five years of planning, fundraising and construction, the facility is now open. The building provides a setting for ladder practice and rescue drills of all types.
“Being able to do this is unbelievable,” firefighter Kurt Lietz said of Thursday’s session.
The group used a hole between the first and second floors of the building to lower rescuers and raise victims by ropes.
“Who’s going to let us cut a hole in their floor so we can practice?” he said.
“It’s practical stuff I hope we don’t have to use, but it’s good to do it,” firefighter Mike Elliott said.
“Something like this we wouldn’t be able to do if we didn’t have this (facility),” Fire Chief Tim Magnin said.
The project got its start five years ago when Bart Magnin, a training officer at the time, began planning.
“We decided it was something that was needed,” he said.
The city provided the lot for the training building, and the Oconto Falls High School building construction class completed the framing work. Twenty other organizations and businesses contributed to the project, including the Friends of Oconto Falls Fire Department.
“We built as we could afford it,” Bart Magnin said.
He said the department invested about $15,000 in the facility and determined it’s well worth the money.
“When we want to do something, we can do it right in our backyard. We don’t need to go to Green Bay,” he said.
“More and more, we’re using the building and the area around it,” Tim Magnin said.
Although the facility doesn’t have the capacity for live burns, a smoke machine makes it pretty convincing there’s a real fire, Tim Magnin said.
“Boy, that was real,” he said, recalling the effects of the smoke machine after a training session. “You can’t see two feet in front of you.”
The facility will be used by firefighters from Oconto Falls and the area. The building is 12 feet wide and 32 feet long, with a concrete floor.
The three-story structure provides a variety of training opportunities.
Firefighters can use the smoke machine to simulate a chimney fire or practice search and rescue operations on the ground floor. They can practice how to carry a hose up a flight of stairs, turn a corner and continue up another flight.
A second-floor window provides an opening for teams practicing rescue drills with ladders. A pipe attached across the top of the building simulates the rain gutters of a home where ladders can be fastened. Another pipe can be used for rope-tying practice.
The flat roof and open porch on the top floor can be used for ladder work and roof-top exercises.
At the foot of the facility is a pitched roof with a cut-out in the center where firefighters simulate how to cut a vent hole on a roof, while remaining at a safe height.
“There’s a lot of things we’ll add over the years,” Tim Magnin said.
A consultant who analyzed the Fire Department in 2012 said the department needed to devote more than four or five hours a month to training as it had in 2012, with a goal of 20 hours per month, as recommended by the Insurance Services Office.
Since the release of the analysis in February, the department came close to doubling the amount of time spent in training, Tim Magnin said. Although the new facility led to an increase in training time, better record keeping is also a factor, he said.
Categories
