Firefighters Train in old Hotel
The D’Iberville Fire Department recently took advantage of a unique opportunity. The old Travel Lodge Hotel at the west end of Sangani Boulevard is scheduled for demolition to make way for road improvements that will lead into the new Promenade Retail Development. Before it is torn down, Chief Gerald Smith and Emergency Manager Jay Williams led their fire crew through a series of training exercises using the hotel as a practice site.
On Tuesday, July 2, two firefighters in full gear, breathing in measured, deep breaths through heavy, masks crawled along the floor of the dark upstairs hallway, methodically checking each door and each room for possible survivors. In this scenario the drill masters have placed a somewhat child-shaped dummy made of old fire house in a closet. The firefighters have been informed that a six-year-old child is in the “burning” building. As a pair of firefighters, including a rookie, find their way along the hall, yelling at each other through their masks to communicate, Chief Smith, his deputy Danny Miller and Williams stop them on occasion, questioning their tactics and telling them what they’re doing wrong.
“What did you just do wrong? What’s the first thing you’re supposed to do when you approach a door?” the rookie is reproached. “Are you following a right-hand pattern or a left-hand pattern?” they are asked. “Where’s the exit right now? Do you know where your exit is?”
A loud ringing goes off, signaling that the air tanks are getting low. The pair has to leave now and send in a second crew. This will continue until all survivors are found.
As another pair comes over the ladder, a seasoned firefighter guides his partner, doing things along the way that he’s learned from experience. He moves the light on the ladder so that it shines directly into the room. He leaves a flashlight on the floor next to the door where he will have to exit. His helmet is illuminated with an extra, glowing band of lights. He moves quickly along the wall down the hall, yelling out to his partner.
“Each fire fighter learns his own techniques and skills,” Smith says. He points out little things that the veteran fighter is doing that is only learned through experience and extensive training.
“This is why we train,” Williams said. “We train to find and correct mistakes so we don’t make them in the field. Most of a firefighter’s time is spent training. If we just wait for fires we risk becoming complacent and forgetting what we’ve been taught.” The use of the hotel was a way to make their training new and different. “There are only so many places we can hide the dummy at the fire station,” Chief Smith said.
The air supply alarm goes off again. The firemen talk to their crew downstairs on the radio. “How much air do you have left,” someone asks. “We’ve got about five more minutes,” the fighter replies. “We have enough to search two more rooms.” The radio gives him an OK and they head to the next room. Bands of reflective material on their coats and hats glow in the dark as they move along. One man goes into the room while the other waits outside. If the fire fighter is still too long an alarm on his suit rings loudly. The alarm is there to let other fire fighters know when a man is down. The fire fighter shifts back and forth to turn it off.
“Is anyone in here?” the man in the room shouts. “Can you hear me?” The fire hose child is silent. “You’d be amazed where children hide,” Williams said. They hide in closets, in bathtubs, under beds. “I’ve got a victim! I’ve got a victim!” the fire fighter shouts. The hallway suddenly becomes louder with the shouts of the two men, yelling orders and confirmations to each other, rushing to get the dummy out. The victim is taken by the arms and legs along the dark hallway to the door with the light shining next to it. They enter the well lit room, hurrying to get it to the ladder.
“OK, that’s it. You can leave it here,” Smith says. The men go back down the ladder and take their gear off, getting water and taking a break.
After a debriefing by the Chief they will suit up and go back in. This time it’s each other they will practice saving as they cut and break through sheetrock to get out from an unsafe room to another or to get into a dangerous area where a fire fighter is trapped.
The crew has been running drills like these all week. On Saturday, June 28 the same crew carried out Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) training. The same hallways were filled with smoke and the fire fighter donned gas masks and bio gear, practicing proper wash down methods in the driveway that once saw guest unloading luggage. After the July 4thweekend, the training will continue with a new shift of fire fighters.
According to Williams, firefighters go through basic skills training once a week and extensive, drill-like training about once a month. They don’t get the kind of opportunity that an abandoned hotel provides very often, so they are using the time well, putting all of the men through the wringers in the hallways and rooms of the old hotel.
