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02/28/2010: "This Is A Drill, This Is A Drill!"

(Orcas Island Fire & Rescue photo of a drill)

By Maxx Jones

Orcas Island Fire & Rescue used live fire to hone their ventilation skills last evening at YMCA Camp Orkila. Using the abandoned structure, firefighters set a series of training fires inside the structure.

Teams of 3-4 then worked together to quickly ventilate the building to push the smoke and fire back so they could then enter and extinguish the fire.

The 29 responders had 5 different opportunities to stop the fire before it could destroy the building.

"These are vital skills we need to save lives and fight fire more effectively,² stated Training Division Chief and Paramedic Patrick Shepler. "We took this golden opportunity to train like we fight fires, taking the classroom into the real world. It was a very successful exercise."

Firefighters will have a second chance to train on the building for exposure protection and fire behavior training.

(Maxx Jones is a Captain in the Orcas Island Fire & Rescue.)