The mood started to shift as a few dozen firefighters finished their lunch break Friday inside a damp, abandoned building on Marine Drive.
“We’re done taking it easy,” said Jason Bostron, a Sterling, Colorado, firefighter, as “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses blared on a stereo. “We started out a little timid. Now we’re going to ramp it up a notch.”
Firefighters were about to continue the first day of survival and rescue training. The Randy Carpenter Memorial Fund — named after a Coos Bay fireman who died when a roof collapsed in a burning building — sponsors the training. Classes have taken place as far east as Wisconsin, and firefighters often use vacation time to learn how to handle life-or-death scenarios.
“It’s just nice being around people who want to be good at their job, being around passionate people and pushing the limit, really,” said Tyler Myers of the Hoodland Fire District. “It was the best ‘worst class’ I’ve ever taken.”