A free training session this Saturday at the Roanoke Regional Fire/EMS Training Center, located at 1220 Kessler Mill Road, aims to give firefighters from across Virginia a better understanding of the dangers of fire smoke and how to better protect their health.
"You can say that before, we didn't know what was dangerous, so it was just incidental. But now that you know something is dangerous, and if you continue to not do best practices, the burden is on you now to try to make your department better and give yourself a healthier lifestyle," said Capt. Greg Sazonov with Roanoke County Fire and Rescue.
The training program will be provided by the Fire Smoke Coalition, Inc., which works to educate firefighters and first responders around the world about the life-long dangers of breathing fire smoke. Saturday's training will include classroom instruction and a live burn demonstration.