Houston times-journal. (Perry, Ga.) 1994-1999, September 04, 1996, Image 8

Houston times-journal., September 04, 1996, Page Page 8A, Image 8

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Newspaper Page TextPage 8A -Wednesday, Sept. 4, 1996 Houston Times-Journal By EMILY JOHNSTONE Times-Journal Staff When members of the Houston County Fire Department and Perry Fire Department gath ered for joint training Aug. 27 and 29, things got hot and heavy. Firemen used two dilapidated buildings along Elm Street in Perry for the procedure. Search and rescue practice took place on the top floor of a two-story build ing Aug. 27. Two evenings later, firemen set both buildings ablaze while they practiced their tech niques in a controlled situation. Perry Chief Gary Hamlin, along with county assistant chief Ronnie Register, put together the sessions • for their men and women. About 6 p.m. Aug. 27, fire fighters began parking their vehi cles near the buildings, then climbed into their gear in prepara tion for the session. They filled the top floor of the building with a synthetic, non toxic smoke. This type has a cot ton candy taste and is harmless to healthy persons other than being somewhat of an eye irritant. The firefighters split into teams, taking turns climbing a ladder to the top floor, where they searched for victims. Earlier, other firemen hid two man nequins in locations upstairs which were unknown to the res cuers. It was their job to find the mannequins. Instructors train firefighters to keep close to a wall, touching it, because that way they do not become lost in the dense smoke. One person is in contact w'ith the wall. The other has one hand on that person’s leg and uses his other hand and leg to do a sweep in an attempt to feel for victims of smoke inhalation. By the time a team completed their search and rescue and were back on the ground, they were near exhaustion because of the heat caused by a hot area and their heavy protective gear. They were jubilant with the knowledge that they are capable of rescuing a person from a smoke-filled structure if the need arises. “You need to go inside and see what it is like for a firefighter,” Hamlin told me. “I’ll take you upstairs,” Register offered. Who wants to look like a wuss? I went. Up some back stairs and in through a window, into a room that was so thick with the smoke’ 1 instinctively held my breath, even though I knew it would not harm me. The first thing I did was head back for the window to stick my head out and pull in a lung full of air that did not taste like cotton candy. Back in I went for a minute only a minute. Now I knew what firemen sometimes see in such a situation. Absolutely nothing. I could not even see my hand in front of my face and had to fight an overwhelming feeling of claustrophobia. “OK. Ronnie, that’s enough,” I said and went back out the win dow. About mid-aftemoon Aug. 29, the city animal control officer, Troy Fluellen, made a trip to the location to perform a rescue of his own. Two puppies whined under one of the structures. Rescue was . , ' ; :t' ** * * . SB Hr r" ' EM’LY JOHNSTONE Reporter turned firefighter City, county firemen complete hot, smoky training exercise Hill ' v„ j if n ’ * £ j * t GflßkMßiriPlnS Wm 1 . > m? Mmmm I£ ? 4 . 4 jy Jg* MmmmMmSßm % *%? •- , s *.,•> f Vj-' ... Sill i a-ialfe.*- .... gf§|£flpPi9p a£k U-t ' .• 5 * * * jUI vW iM ' , ,t- • .V’JBte b ■ .;w;. Times-Journal Photos by Emily Johnstone FIGHTING THE BLAZE Fire Chief Gary Hamlin (center) checks gear on fireman Danny Evans (left) before Evans enters the blaze. Watching is Greg Hardy. necessary before the building burned. Fluellen used some of his equipment to rescue the puppies and place them in the back of his vehicle with their mother. Meanwhile, firemen readied the buildings for a controlled burn later that day. About 6 p.m., the same sce nario only this time a number of fire trucks, including one from Hayneville-Grovania and the new Air One, pulled up. Volunteers unrolled fire hoses and hooked them up to hydrants and pumpers. They doused an area around the buildings to keep the blaze from spreading. A number of spectators gath ered. Many were families of the firefighters, there to offer support to their loved ones. The first part of the session began with a sit-down. This is when a group of firefighters gath ers in a room to sit and listen to their instructor’s teaching fire fighting techniques. During the sit-down, everyone must wear full bunker gear, including their self-contained breathing appara tus (SCBA). Someone lights a fire in the room and as the instructor talks, the flames grow higher until it rolls over their heads along the ceiling. At the end of a sit-down, the firemen begin retreat and then come back in with hoses to fight the fire. Hamlin invited me to the sit down. He hoped I would go in the burning house and snap some photos. I took a disposable cam era in because someone told me the intense heat and smoke could cause equipment damage. I became nervous. As I struggled to keep my 93- pound frame from doubling over under about 80 pounds of bunker gear, borrowed from firefighter Doug Straka. I wondered. “How do I get myself into such situa tions?” I could hear my grand mother’s voice ringing down through the years, telling me for the millionth time, “Curiosity killed the cat!” ' mum MMPBbMBL. * ..„ BsSiP jb pm fj ifrliilJ B - flk 'dßHMra' |f ’||^nß^HßM|HH^H|^^nß REVIEWING THE TRAINING SESSION PLANS Firemen review their plans for the burn ing exercise prior to igniting the fire. In the photo are (from left), an unidentified volunteer, Earl Nelson, Billy Gordon, Wayne Nelson, Ronnie Register and Calvin Broom. “I gulped, quite literally, for air as Kelvin Ross and Mark Barron pulled an air mask down over my face. I could feel sweat trickling down my skin in rivulets because of the heat which builds up inside the heavy fireproof gear. At least I hoped it was sweat. One of the firemen had warned me of creepy-crawlies that sometimes get into suits when they are lying on the ground or in other areas.” Emily Johnstone I gulped, quite literally, for air as Kelvin Ross and Mark Barron pulled an air mask down over my face. I could feel sweat trickling down my skin in rivulets because of the heat which builds up inside the heavy fireproof gear. At least I hoped it was sweat. One of the firemen had warned me of creepy crawlies that sometimes get into suits when they are lying on the ground or in other areas. I lost my struggle with the weight of all the gear and my knees began to buckle. A pair of volunteers kindly helped me inside. 1 felt like a tor toise crawling with someone standing on its back. Someone told me to get down and stay down. When the temper ature began to rise to several hun dred degrees, the heat can become intense enough to kill. As I came into a back room in the building where the first fire raged, I saw a group of firefight ers gathered for the sit-down 1 saw a tiny flame spark but quick ly spread. I tried to concentrate on taking photos but it was hard to do. I felt my hands and the camera become very hot. The firemen didn't look afraid but I was terrified. I was grateful for the breathing apparatus. This smoke did not taste like cotton candy. It was deadly dangerous. When I began to back out of the room and down the hall, the heat started really getting to me. I'm grateful to whoever finally dragged me out to a waiting seat and helped me out of that stifling gear. (I think it was Ross and Earl Nelson.) As 1 sat there trying to cool down, the new perspective I gained when it comes to firefight ing grew. I do not think 1 will feel the same whenever I cover fire stories in the future now that I know first hand what it is like to be inside a bunting structure. As the building burned, fire fighters kept up with their train ing, going in on hands and knees, zigzagging the ceiling of a burn ing room with the hose until they knocked the fire down. They then backed out and swapped so another person could have a go at the end of the nozzle. Training was not over until after midnight. Firemen spent much of the following morning cleaning the gear. And waiting for a call. A call that may not be a practice but the real thing. Perry firemen participating were: Chief Gary Hamlin, Earl Greene, Earl Nelson, Doug Straka, Mark Barron, Calvin Broom, Wayne Hall, Curtis Lindsey, Kelvin Ross, Robbie Rowell. Joe Boone, Danny Evans, Clay Fuller, Greg Hardy, Wayne Nelson, Brent Patterson. Phil Small. Willie Vance, Ephraim Wheeler. County firemen participating included Ronnie Register. 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