“Rescue in a fiery, smoke-filled house is full of danger but it’s got to be done,” says Deputy Fire Chief Dave Lampart of the Woodbury Volunteer Fire Dept. With that in mind, a dozen firefighters turned out on a cold 20 degree Saturday morning March 28th at a derelict home on North Road, Roxbury for a rescue exercise. The former farmouse was made available for the refresher drill.
While a smoke generator churned out fumes impeding indoor vision, half a dozen firefighters broke into two teams. One fought imaginary flames while the other crawled through smoke to locate an unconscious person, actually a training dummy, on another floor. Then they reversed roles. The scenario was created by Woodbury Firefighter Chris Start. The officer in command at the exercise was Fire Capt Steve Cunningham. Overall supervision was by trainers from Mission CIT based in Shelton CT.
In photo 1, a weary Woodbury Fire Capt. Steve Cunningham unhooks his 60 lbs of firefighting gear after the drill. Photo 2 shows a Woodbury firefighter hauling the dummy victim outdoors while another firefighter assists.
Firefighter officials said that children hide from what scares them, often in nooks behind stairs, under beds, or in closets. Old folks, frequently limited in movement, simply stay put. “So finding people by touch alone becomes important,” says a trainer. Meanwhile, smoke can cut off visibility, flames and heat are a constant risk, backpack tanks can run low on breathable air, and a fall can break bones. “Disorientation is a real factor,” adds Fire Capt. Cunningham. “I became turned around and had to reorient myself even in the drill,” he said. “I didn’t want to tumble down the stairs by thinking a doorway was a closet.”
