Area firefighters unite in training exercises
The training exercise, organized by Northville Township Fire Department Training Coordinator Jesse Marcotte was funded by a federal grant program that allows firefighters to practice scenarios they could encounter in the field.
“Mistakes provide a good learning opportunity but we want those mistakes to be made on the training ground, not in real life,” Marcotte, a nationally-known fire training expert, said. He explained that since January there have 86 fires which took lives in Michigan and of those, Marcotte said, only 45 percent had working smoke detectors in the homes.
He stressed that while firefighters were continually training for various scenarios and dangers, the public could be a key element in home fire safety by simply making sure that smoke detectors are working. While basements are some of, if not the most dangerous blazes firefighters battle, homeowners could lessen that threat to their own lives and those of firefighters, by ensuring there is an escape from the basement should a fire occur. In a basement fire, floors can collapse unexpectedly, and materials burn hotter explained Northville Township Fire Marshal Tom Hughes.
In Northville Township 97 percent of the homes have basements, averaging about 1,700 square feet, Hughes noted, stressing the importance of assessing a basement fire as safely and quickly as possible.
Marcotte said that in the case of any fire, speed is essential in escape.
“People should have a plan to get out of the home or building,” he said. “That is a key factor in surviving.” He said that while the escape time from a burning home or building used to be estimated at 17 minutes, with the current design and home construction materials, the time has been reduced to only 3 minutes for an average individual.
“Home furnishings are made mostly out of synthetic materials now - not organic materials like wood and wool like they were back in the day - so fires get a lot hotter, a lot faster now, which makes this kind of training so important,” Hughes explained. He added that the new open concept in home design is more dangerous, too, as there are fewer walls or doors to slow the flames.
The doll houses helped demonstrate the impact of air flow through walls and doors in separate home designs and constructions, providing firefighters with a better understanding of how to control a blaze.
Firefighters from 24 departments in Michigan and Indiana attended the training exercises last week, some of whom with more than 20 years' experience in fire departments. Marcotte, who participates in training sessions throughout the country, said he was overwhelmed by the level of passion longtime firefighters possess for wanting to learn new tactics.
He noted that even the most experienced firefighters in attendance “remain open-minded about learning new tactics and embracing new ways of doing things.”
