I know its been a while since I have updated but with it being the holiday and me having to study my brains out for my final I haven't really had time to update this. First, the big news is I passed my written final! This means I am one step closer to finally being a certified firefighter! I will admit, with as much as I studied it was a really hard test and I was sweating bullets! We had to wait about an hour after taking the test to get the results and I was so nervous because I didn't think I passed. There were questions on the test I have never seen before! Once we got the results and I saw that I passed I was so relived! I couldn't wait to go home to tell the guys at the firehouse! Now I just have to get through HAZMAT Ops and my practicals which are the hands on testing to receive my cert.
Before I took my final we had a class all about structural burns, car fires, dumpster fires and advancing hose lines to put them out. It was a really really long day for me since the night before we were really busy with calls all night since we had heavy flooding in our area and then I was woken up at 4:30am for a house fire down the street. Needless to say I was exhausted to start the day. We started our day in the tower and had to use a stand pipe for a water supply. With standpipes they are inside a building so you hook up the hose one floor below the fire and then take the hose line one floor above the fire so gravity will work with you when you are dragging the charged hose into the room. We used a propane fire simulator and use the O,T and Z water patterns to put the fire out. We also practiced hydraulic ventilation to get the heat out of the room. Working with a charged hose line is a lot harder than it looks and it takes a lot of energy. We got the work done though. Later in the afternoon we practiced putting out car fires and dumpster fires. For the car fire we practiced in teams and used charge hose lines to approach the fire. We start by spraying water at the ground so that it reflects off the ground and under the car. We do this as we approach the car. We then opened the truck and put out the fire there and then moved to the compartment of the car. While doing this we also want to cool the tires. Then we put out the fire in the engine. Each member of the team had a job. One member controlled the nozzle, one backed up the nozzle person, another supported the hose line and then the last guy had the halligan bar and used it to pry open the hood and trunk. When approaching a car fire the biggest thing you want to remember is always approach from the side and never from the front or back in case the bumpers fly off. With dumpster fires it is the same kind of concept only you just fill the dumpster with water since its only trash. You want to cool the sides of the dumpster and cool the inside as well. Now that we are done our final and all of our classroom work it is time to move on to HAZMAT ops. We start Tuesday!
To view pictures you can go to:
Fire academy Live Fire Training
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