Despite the stifling heat, dozens of potential firefighters voluntarily practiced the training course at Louisville Fire Academy.
Maj. Bobby Cooper of the Louisville Fire Department told WLKY News that 156 candidates will soon take the Louisville Fire Department's first round of physical and written testing. Some of those candidates arrived to practice the course Monday morning. It includes running flights of stairs with the hose, raising ladders and other strength and cardio tests.
The thick heat posed a test of its own, but Cooper said it’s a taste of what fire recruits can expect. “It does give them a sense of what it might be like. Now trust me, it's not what it's like. It’s much worse than that,” Cooper told WLKY's Marvis Herring. Cooper said they wear more than 50 pounds of insulated gear and an oxygen tank.
When responding to structure fires, the summer heat poses risks of heat-related injuries.
“There's really no escape from the heat,” said Cooper.