PHOTO: Hands On Training (HOT), simulates situations that help firefighters prepare for real-life scenarios.
"This is to get everybody together to actually do the hands-on part of stuff we learn in books or videos," said Shearer.
They mimicked a scenario of a victim being trapped inside a building. Firefighters used the method of vent, enter, isolate, and search to find the victim. They ran through four different scenarios fully dressed and complete with smoke, alarms, and calls for help. Community Risk Reduction Specialist Ben Shearer of the Pasco Fire Department says this to keep them hyper-focused like it was real-life.
"So everybody gets the chance to experience the different positions and do that over and over again so we're creating that muscle memory. So when we get to your house because it happened in the middle of the night at your house, we're not having to think about 'what are we doing here,' we do that part from muscle memory. And then we can just concentrate about how we are best going to rescue you," said Shearer.