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SALT LAKE CITY — Training to fight a fire rarely measures up to battling the real thing. But firefighter recruits in Salt Lake City got a chance on Wednesday to hone critical skills they'll use on the job by training in real abandoned buildings.
"As a class, they're only as strong as their weakest person," said Salt Lake City Fire Capt. Rob Stafford, one of the training supervisors. "So we have to get everybody up to that skill level and make sure that everybody can meet the standard."
They did not train with real fire today. They're working on the fine skills they'll need to access a fire using several abandoned buildings on the 300 East block of 400 South. The recruits worked in teams of two, punching holes in the shingle roof with chainsaws and axes. That's a technique they use when they're trying to ventilate a fire, search for the fire and possibly search for victims.
"If you give it everything you've got, you can get a lot out of it," said Justin Batty, one of 15 Salt Lake City firefighter recruits. The original applicant pool started with around a thousand applicants. Batty deployed to Iraq with the Utah National Guard six years ago.
"I have skills from the military I can apply here. This gives me skills that I can take back to the military," Batty said. "It's another way for me to push myself."
The firefighting gear and tools are heavy, even when they're not around fire. It's a cool, fall day, but the firefighters are sweating as they work hard going through the drills.
"It's always tough work," Batty said.
The trainers said it is the most realistic training opportunity for these recruits. Real buildings are better than training buildings.
"We get tools on, hands-on (training) in an actual building," Stafford said. "These buildings are conventional construction — kind of old construction — so they can present a challenge. This is a whole other step up for our recruits."
This is the time to make mistakes, Stafford said, so trainers can correct them.
"When we're out on the streets and serving the public, we don't have time to get it wrong," Stafford said. “So that's what training is all about."
If training goes well, the recruits will graduate just before Christmas and they'll be fighting fires in the community in the new year.
