Alina Dangerfield went to the fire station on Mill Street to take a look at how firefighters are training in these conditions.
Even on days as hot as the Biggest Little City is experiencing right now, firefighters are still expected to show up in full gear. That includes recruits.
Reno fire says their training helps the firefighters get used to days this warm, and that's why recruits work up to practicing in full gear, which is what they call turn outs.
“Getting them acclimated one to the heat is super important and two to the heaviness of the gear,” said Cory Whitlock, Division Chief of Safety & Training, Reno Fire. “And carrying all that stuff takes a little while and we need to graduate up to that, because if we just threw gear on you and put you up here to climb ladders and stuff, it's really taxing on the body.”
The current recruits have been in the academy just under two months, with the full course taking about four months. They start out by wearing older turn outs but are fitted with brand new uniforms that will arrive in a few weeks.
The recruits are currently working on topside ventilation. That's a technique that includes cutting holes into roofs to pull smoke up and out. But these exercises also include all of the skills they've already worked on.
“The most challenging thing has just been vent,” said recruit Samuel Taylor. “I was just talking with our chief about it. It’s just a lot of new skills kind of thrown in all at once. I've never run a chainsaw before, so learning how to run a chainsaw while standing on top of a roof that’s slanted, has a lot of safety precautions to take with that.”
Normally the fire department tries not to hold academies during the hottest part of the year due to the heat, making this academy a little more intense.
To learn more about Reno Fire’s recruitment process, visit this link: Reno Fire Recruitment Information | City of Reno.
