Crash course
By Brandy Nance (Contact)
Originally published 09:39 a.m., October 27, 2007
Updated 09:39 a.m., October 27, 2007
Gazette Reporter Brandy Nance uses the Jaws of Life to pry open a car door Tuesday in a demonstration at Emporia Fire Station No. 2.
Interim Emporia Police Chief Mike Lopez stood Monday morning inside a burning structure, flames blazing above him. With fire hose in hand, he extinguished the fire from above and then attacked the source — a burning bed.
No, Lopez hasn’t changed careers to become a firefighter. He was inside a burn trailer used to train firefighters on techniques when putting out a fire. Several Emporia community leaders left Fire Ops 101 training Tuesday with a greater appreciation of what firefighters, paramedics and emergency medical technicians do in the community.
Fire Ops 101 was sponsored by the Emporia Fire Department. The Firefighters’s Union provided the supplies and a fire helmet (which participants got to keep) for those who attended. The day’s activities ran from 8:30 a.m. to nearly 2:30 p.m. Participants got hands-on training in simulated situations at Fire Station No. 2 during the day.
Jack Taylor, Emporia fire chief, said the primary responsibilities of the fire department is fire protection in the city of Emporia and ambulance service in Lyon County. The department also covers the Kansas Turnpike as far south as Matfield Green, Taylor said.
Photo by Brandy Nance
Emporia Firefighter and EMT Matthew Slade, right, pretends to be a heart patient attended to by Firefighter-Paramedic Tony Fuller during a mock-EMT run that was a part of Fire Ops 101.
In 2006, the fire department handled 1,310 fire calls. So far this year, the department is at 1,067. In 2006, 2,341 EMS calls were handled. In 2007, the number so far is 2,015. In between calls, crews still stay busy, Taylor said.
“In addition to emergency response, (crews) do something like fire hydrant and hose testing and standby (at events).”
After a briefing of the day, participants ranging from Emporia city commissioners to the police chief and mayor, were given some hands-on training while suited up in full fire gear. Five stations were set up:
• Fire ladder where participants were given the opportunity to climb the 75-foot ladder;
Photo by Brandy Nance
City officials share a laugh Tuesday afternoon after a grueling six-hour day at Emporia Fire Department Station No. 2 during “Fire Ops 101,” which was designed to give media and officials a hands-on look at the Emporia Fire Department. From left are Commissioner Jeff Longbine, City Engineer Keith Beatty, City Manager Matt Zimmerman and Commissioner Kevin Nelson.
• Burn trailer where participants could put out a bed fire, stove fire and basement fire;
• Extraction, where participants could use the jaws of life and cutters to cut into a car;
• Search and rescue where participants crawled on their hands and knees and searched for a victim in the dark and pulled them to safety; and
• EMS run where a simulated EMS call was staged so participants could see what a call for a heart attack victim entailed.
Photo by Brandy Nance
Interim Emporia Police Chief Mike Lopez listens to instructions from Emporia Fire Department Battalion Chief Lyle Armitage.
Lopez said he was surprised by the physical exertion of the job.
“What is takes to go up a ladder,” Lopez said. “The tools that have to be utilized.”
Lopez said the thermal imaging cameras that crews use to locate victims in buildings was expensive but well worth it. He learned techniques when trying to put out a structure fire in the burn trailer. Inside the burn trailer with full gear including an air tank, participants used a fire hose to put out fires, which were fueled by natural gas. The burn trailer was equipped with safety buttons, which shut the gas off in case something goes wrong.
“I didn’t realize how much equipment they have to use,” Lopez said.
Photo by Brandy Nance
Members of Emporia city government file into The University of Kansas Burn Trailer. The trailer is used to train firefighters.
“I greatly appreciate firefighters now,” Lopez told the group following the exercises.
Photo by Brandy Nance
Emporia Firefighter Bill Harmon helps Interim Police Chief Mike Lopez put out a stove fire inside The University of Kansas burn trailer.
Mayor Julie Johnson said she learned a lot during the day.
“What surprised me the most was how heavy and bulky the uniforms are,” Johnson said, as she was leaving the fire station. “I’m amazed at how they can climb the ladder in all that. It was a great learning experience for me.”
Comments
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Posted by food4thought (anonymous) on October 29, 2007 at 3:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe now they will get the respect and raises they deserve protecting all of us. It takes very special people to do what they do and also put up with what they do. Good job station 1 and 2 for all the great things you do for all of us...
Posted by slipandslide (anonymous) on October 29, 2007 at 5 p.m. (Suggest removal)
we have an excellent fire dept. the hard work and training they do really pays off
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