Walking into a burning home with smoke everywhere and you can't see. It's hard to imagine, but it's something firefighters do every day.
However, their work extends beyond that from medical calls to special rescues all to keep us safe.
WMBD suited up and found out what it's like to be a firefighter at the Peoria Fire Training Academy.
"It's more than just putting water on fire." Assistant Fire Chief, Chuck Lauss, said.
It’s much more than that. The day started in the classroom for training, the most important step to becoming a firefighter.
"Our firefighters are very, very highly trained, they continue with that training on a daily basis.” Lauss added.
After a briefing we got a medical call. Peoria fire department says nearly 80% of calls they get are for medical assistance.
Peoria firefighters are able to do much of what can be done in an emergency room, IV’s to EKG’s, before a patient gets to the hospital. When every second counts, this increases the chances a life will be saved.
Next, we suited up and were off to save people in a car crash. Using the jaws of life and spreaders, firefighters can rip through metal to free someone who is trapped. The process is much harder than it looks.