Intense firefighter training day offers insights into medical and rescue challenges fire departments face

It’s not every day that people get the chance to see up close the type of training that goes into becoming a firefighter. 

Normally, we only have the opportunity to cover firefighters from a distance, but on Friday, Feb. 21, FOX 10’s Nicole Krasean literally stepped into the boots of our local firefighters for a day of training. 

Since 80% of calls to fire departments and districts are medical, we start our training by learning how to help someone going through a cardiac issue. 

It’s more than just compressions; EMS crews are also administering IVs and intubating patients. 

What’s next:

Training then moved outside where we jumped right into a search and rescue mission. 

Four people work on each fire truck and all four are crucial to the firefight and the inside rescue. 

We learned the amount of synthetic materials in the construction of modern homes and furniture can lead to faster burns and make time a huge factor in every fire call. 

Dig deeper:

Now that we’ve saved “Roger” we’re taking our training to the roads to battle a blaze inside a car. 

Crews say electric vehicles now pose a new challenge due to the lithium-ion batteries used inside. 

Training today finished at the extrication station where we broke the windows and used cutters and spreaders to take off the driver’s door. 

The IAFF Local 2260 firefighters, representing eight different fire municipalities and districts in the Valley, then took over for a demo where we saw an abrupt burning of superheated gases – also known as a backdraft – and watched the crew secure the building.