Reno Fire Department's fire academy burned through some very special training for their recruits on Friday. The department says live fire drills bring the trainees one step closer to experiencing the real thing. The fire academy is already halfway through their training. What happened at the Carson City fire training complex is much different from what happens at the Reno Fire Department training complex.Training on Friday included a live fire session that's different than what they've seen previously.
The heat is on for Reno Fire Department's current trainees. “Instead of burning gas props like we have up at the city of Reno at our training center, down here we can have actual wood props that can burn. So we can get a fire that burns hotter and more realistic as far as the fire and as the smoke goes. It’s better training for our recruit academy,” said Reno Fire Department Firefighter and trainer Ben Rupert.
The difference really has trainees fired up. “It's definitely an adrenalin rush when you see a car on fire and you just go rip the door off,” said fire trainee Michael Handley.
That's precisely what Reno Fire Department trainee Michael Handley did during one of the 3 drills conducted on Friday. “They are making fire attack on both floors. We have victims inside. So then not only get to go in there and do fire attack, they also do forcible entry and also pull out a victim,” said firefighter Rupert.
The increase in the heat and smoke intensity does make a difference to the trainees. This is more what they are going to experience when it’s time to fight a real fire. “As far as controlling the adrenaline that's why we try to train hard. So when we are in the real world situation its muscle memory,” said fire trainee Trevor Hall. ”It’s about knowing how to work with one another. Knowing what he will want without him telling me is huge,” said Handley. “It's definitely a little stressful. It gets your heart pumping. The visibility isn't so great. But you communicate with your partners and you get yourself through it,” said Hall.
The normal training period for Reno Fire Department recruits is 16 weeks. But because of the holidays, the current class period will be extended an additional 2 weeks.
