PHOTOS: When firefighters arranged to conduct search and rescue training on a vacant house in memory of Dominic “Bama” Hunt, who died in a Sylvania Township house fire in February, Mr. Hunt’s fiancée Teresa Laney wanted to be there.
“We had to be here as part of the healing process,” Ms. Laney said.
Through Fireground Training Bureau, area firefighters participated in training all weekend. Working in a smoke-filled house in Rossford to rescue plastic mannequins and dolls simulating real victims, firefighters took turns on different exercises that were designed to replicate a real-life situation as much as possible.
“It’s the beginning of realistic training,” said Pvt. Barrett Dorner, founder of Fireground and a firefighter with Toledo Fire & Rescue Department.
While fire training programs have facilities where drills can take place, Private Dorner said it’s difficult to make those areas feel like a real house. Being able to train in a realistic setting is an invaluable experience, as firefighters learn how to navigate around furniture and how to feel the difference between different types of floorings.