FREDERICKTOWN — Bitter winds, cold rain and a hot training fire made for an eventful day for the Fredericktown Community Fire District on Saturday. The empty one-story home on Green Valley Road was used for fire instruction training throughout the morning, leading up to a final exercise at 11 a.m. when firefighters set the final fire to the structure.
The firefighters began the day with exercises in ventilation which involved using power saws and axes to cut holes in the roof. Groups of five or six firefighters took turns on the garage roof, practicing a step in fighting a fire which allows the escape of smoke, heat and poisonous gases which could cause a flashover if they are not removed.
Then the group used pike poles and axes to pull down sections of the ceiling and walls in the living room, exposing studs and insulation as firefighters would normally do as overhaul at the conclusion of a fire to make sure no hot spots remain.
For the remainder of the exercises, firefighters were paired off. Fredericktown firefighter and Public Information Coordinator Jason Bostic said less-experienced firefighters are always paired with senior officers and instructors for safety and education reasons. The instructors from outside the FCDF, many of which were from C-TECH in Licking County, were all career firefighters from departments such as Newark.
“These other departments all have instructors with other experiences,” said Bostic, adding that the variety of those experiences adds more education to the experience.
C-TECH Instructor Jim Lewis, a captain with the Newark Fire Department with 29 years experience who was the senior instructor during Saturday’s training, said the instructors learn from the exercises with other departments as well.
“You always learn something from these things,” Lewis said. “When you quit learning it’s time to retire.”
Training fires that produced huge clouds of yellow and black smoke were set with flares, and kept under control while members of the Fredericktown and Mount Vernon departments practiced firefighting skills in an actual house fire.
Fredericktown Chief Scott mast said that when uninhabitable homes such as the Green Valley structure are donated to the department for training, the educational opportunities are invaluable.
“This training is as real-life as possible. It helps to prepare us for any conditions that we might encounter in actual emergency,” he said.
Five state certified fire instructors and three assistant instructors from Central Ohio fire departments, along with senior officers from the FCDF, led groups of firefighters with varying degrees of experience through the smoke-filled house throughout the morning. State requirements for training mandate the ratio of instructors to firefighters that must be present. Mast and Assistant Chief Larry Schunke coordinated the training.
In groups of four, the firefighters took turns entering the house and extinguishing the fire by putting water on flames in the walls, floors and ceilings.
“As the entry teams go in, they observe the process of the growth of the fire, the layering of the smoke, which helps them to determine the interior conditions, and what methods to take to successfully extinguish the fire and maintain room safety,” Mast explained.
At one point, chunks of melted plastic from the ceiling rained down on the group inside.
“It looked like octopus arms hanging there, and then it all just came down,” one firefighter said.
Fredericktown Captain Jeff Harmer, one of the senior officers inside at the time, removed his helmet once out of the house, and found the face shield had melted.
Harmer said the heat inside a house fire ranges from 1,200 to 1,700 degrees near the ceiling, and “only” 400 to 500 degrees near the floor where he and the other firefighters were crawling.
“It will still baste the turkey,” Harmer said, holding the helmet.
As the groups came out of the building, the instructors offered advice and explanation for different conditions the firefighters encountered in the fire. C-TECH Instructor Chad Deal, assistant chief from Madison Township, gave high praise for his group as he pulled off his mask.
“That’s what I expect out of my guys every time,” Deal told the less experienced firefighters.
Mast said the training was especially helpful for the department’s newer firefighters.
“Our department has several members who are nearing the end of probation,” he said. “This live burn evolution will help them to fulfill their requirements which culminate the various aspects of their training, and enable them to complete their probation.”
As groups rotated out, they helped each other with gear and prepared for the next exercise. Keeping warm in the sleet and rain was a challenge, and the Red Cross provided hot coffee and donuts for the teams.
Once all of the groups had participated in the different training, the fire engine air horn sounded, giving the signal that everyone was to get out of the building immediately. When everyone was safely outside, Mast gave the order to set the final fire. The flames spread in minutes, and firefighters continued exercises from the outside using hoses on the fire, including a hose which sprayed biodegradable Class A Silv-ex Foam that is dispensed using a Compressed Air Foam System. Fredericktown’s newest engine, purchased in April, has a CAFS.
Jason Whaley, a volunteer with the FCDF who is a full-time Mount Vernon firefighter, explained that the foam contains a chemical that breaks down the viscosity and surface tension of water, cutting the amount of water needed to fight a fire by 80 percent.
“It’s a huge benefit for us, especially when you don’t have a hydrant,” Whaley said.
Whaley said the foam has other benefits as well.
“Less water means less property damage, and the foam also brings a faster knock-down time,” he said.
Nineteen FCDF firefighters participated in the training, as well as five MVFD firefighters. Two engines, a tanker and a rescue squad all were on scene. Schunke said the event was extremely successful.
“We had a good turnout, and we did learn a lot about ventilation, salvage and overhaul,” he said.
Ken Lybarger, a member of the Fredericktown Fire Board who is an assistant instructor who works full-time as a firefighter in Liberty Township, praised the Fredericktown department as well.
When the fire was out, Lewis also declared the day a success.
“It went real well,” Lewis said. “We had the weather against us, but the fire was hot and we all had a good time.”
Mast said the day contained lessons that benefited his probationary firefighters and his more experienced personnel alike.
“I believe everyone took away some type of skill or knowledge from the training exercise,” he said.
Deal said he was extremely pleased of the Fredericktown volunteer firefighters.
“I was really impressed with these guys,” he said. “The community should be very proud of them.”
