Training is hot stuff

HAYDEN - Northern Lakes Fire District Capt. Brad Belmont said his department tries to get 20 hours a month in fire training.

But in this week alone, the firefighters were able to get more than 20 hours of practical training in both wildland and structure fires.

"It was great, we love it," Belmont said. "When we get a chance to get out and practice and do what we love to do, I mean, it beats the other work."

Part of the week of training was what Belmont called a "rare opportunity" to train with live fire at a Hayden home scheduled for demolition. On Thursday, 20 Northern Lakes firefighters gathered at the home, which was donated by developer Ken Ela, for a series of six "training sets" involving large fires set off using natural materials, like wood.

During a lunch break at the site, the last of the set fires reached the attic, quickly reducing the home to a pile of rubble and ash.

"A lot goes into this. We started the process a week ago," said Division Captain of Training Mike Mather. "The firefighters absolutely love it and we certainly appreciate the opportunity to work with a partner in the community."

"They can get in there and actually have a fire in a room that's burning and hot and dark and smoking," Belmont added. "For the crews that get to come in, they get to take it all the way to the limit on those skills. So tomorrow morning when they get thrown into a structure fire, their confidence level is higher and they can size up the fire better."

Throughout the week, firefighters from all three of the department's shifts participated in an annual wildland fire training. Belmont said on top of annual training requirements such as deployment of an emergency shelter, the department focused this year on wildland-urban interface.

In order to give his firefighters a real-world view of how urban environments and wildlands interact during a fire scenario, a "field trip" was taken to Lookout Drive in Hayden, where homes are perched right next to the forest.

"The first consideration we have is public and firefighter safety, that's always No. 1," Belmont said when asked about the thing he stresses most during trainings. "Then it's dealing with the fire and seeing what we can do with the fire part of it."

With that in mind, Belmont added that he always encourages homeowners to seek out information on fire mitigation techniques from either the Idaho Department of Lands or their local fire departments.

"A lot of that has to do with where these houses are built, but a lot of it has to do with what precautions the homeowners have taken prior to a fire to protect their house," Belmont said. "Once it's under fire conditions, we don't have a lot of time or resources to guarantee anything."

Belmont said that the week of intensive training translates to a more confident, efficient fire department.

"When we sit in the classroom a lot, just reading a book and looking at a PowerPoint, just kind of going through the academic side of it, there's a little bit of a benefit to it," Belmont said. "But when you can get out and put your hands on the skills themselves, when you end up getting put into a real situation, you revert back to what you've done in training."