GAMBIER — Volunteer firefighters from at least eight different stations gathered on the edge of Gambier on Saturday to train under the live conditions of a propane gas leak.
Sponsored and funded through the Energy Co-op and NGO Propane, firefighters learned to approach and extinguish an ignited propane gas leak. The students were trained on extinguishing fires sprung from a residential propane tank, gas grills, above-ground lines and forklift tanks.
Bob Herron, lead instructor and manager of NGO Propane’s training program, said the class was intended to teach water spray patterns that allow firefighters to approach and extinguish an active propane fire.
As part of a 240-hour training course, firefighterss were taught to approach 30- to 40-foot flames and find the control valve to put out the fire.
“The fire is our friend in this scenario,” said Herron. “It consumes the gas and allows the firefighters to approach.”
At times, the fires burned hotter than thermal sensors on scene could record.
“We can’t tell,” said Herron. “[The fire] is at least 1,800 degrees.”
Herron said his organization and others involved in the training used more that 400 gallons of propane, enough to heat an average home for approximately two months.
Terry Guthrie, an 18-year firefighter veteran and fire prevention officer for Plain Township, said that although uncommon, propane fires were necessary training.
“These are extreme circumstances [in training] and it’s not going to happen often, but you’ve got to be prepared for that,” said Guthrie. “The students are putting to good use what they’ve learned.”
Guthrie calculated that the trainees used approximately 20,000 gallons of water during their training evolutions.
