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SALT LAKE CITY — The best part, by far, was breaking glass on cars.
There’s nothing like swinging a metal pole into a window, instantly hearing the shattering noise of broken glass. However, this was serious business.
The Salt Lake City Fire Department invited media members to go through a basic Fire Operations 101 training class Wednesday morning.
It was a chance to understand the type of training firefighters go through, and a way for fire department leaders to recruit new firefighters — by showing them that if we media folks can do it, maybe anybody can.
"It's a great job. I can't think of anything I'd rather do,” said Battalion Chief Brady George, who is in charge of the Salt Lake City Fire Department’s training division.
The day started by signing a release form.
“But we’ll keep you safe,” winked one firefighter.
I knew this was their chance to get back at us reporters. Normally, at a fire scene, firefighters will run into burning buildings, but run away from TV news cameras (something about an ice cream rule if they show up on TV).
Still, I’ve always respected their job, and after today, I respect it even more. It’s a lot more physical than I first thought, especially after trying to rip open car doors with a device known as the “Jaws of Life.”
“Just watch your hands,” said firefighter Ryan Gapinski. “You kind of have to get the pinchers in there to pull it apart. It’ll just peel the skin of the car right off.”
He was right. Firefighters make it look easy — popping open doors to get people out of cars. What they don’t tell you is these devices weigh at least 50 pounds, and after swinging it around for a few minutes, it gets heavy.
Chief George told me car crashes seem to keep fire crews busier than any other emergency.
"It's not just the fire department anymore,” said George, “It's really more of an emergency service. We deliver babies, we save people from heart attacks, we cut people out of cars, house fires, car fires."
There is a lot that goes into being a firefighter, and they train for all of it.
"Training is the time you can make mistakes without consequences. It's a great way to learn the mechanics of it before someone's life is on the line,” said George. “You get to know each other. We know each other’s families. We spend a third of our lives together, so we have to have that sense of fun, that sense of humor in a lot of what we do because of the inherent nature of the job.”
Firefighters make it look easy — popping open doors to get people out of cars. What they don’t tell you is their devices weigh at least 50 pounds.
Most of us can imagine firefighters going into a room, using a hose to put out a fire. Part of our training today included using an oxygen tank and a mask to crawl into a room to put out a fire.
“Stay on your knees and keep low!” firefighters said as they encouraged us to keep going.
However, the part of the training I wasn't prepared for was when we had to follow a hose on the ground, crawling, simulating a situation of a firefighter separated from the rest of his crew.
We had to go through a sort of maze full of mattresses and other obstacles. In one section, we had to go through a small tube and then out a window frame. We had to hop up and down different structures. At one point, fire crews even activated a trap door where we fell (unexpectedly) into a foam pit. (I just know they enjoy pulling that lever.)
The physical and mental part of it all was almost too much. I felt like I couldn't breathe with the mask on and wanted to take it off.
However, one of the trainers told me the air in the room was the same as the air I was breathing in the mask. It just felt like I couldn’t breathe because my senses were telling me I was being constricted.
"What you have to do is take a deep breath, slow your breathing down. In and our nice and slow,” said the trainer.
It definitely helped my nerves. After gathering myself, I finished. I’m sure it wasn’t anywhere near a record time, but I was happy I finished. I couldn’t imagine doing it in complete darkness with a real fire burning.
"A lot of it is mental, just like what you saw,” said Gapinski, “but we talk each other through it. You did great."
There is a brotherhood between firefighters that’s hard to explain. In that moment, I felt it.
“We build such camaraderie with each other and the people we work with that it’s unlike any other organization on the face of the planet, in my opinion,” said George.
Firefighters also showed us how quickly a fire can spread. They simulated a college dorm room, lit a small section of a chair on fire, and within a minute and a half, the entire room was full of fire.
Another mental hurdle was going in the bucket part of a ladder truck and being elevated 114 feet into the air. I think we only went 60 feet, but it felt like 114.
The training these professional firefighters do is amazing, and all of it is to try to keep us safe if something happens.
“We spend a lot of time crawling through very obscure spaces, a lot of time in the dark, and a lot of time in the smoke,” said George, “but again, it’s the best job in the world.”
