Fireman participate in live training

Several area fire departments came together last Tuesday evening to take part in propane simulation training. 

Members of Grant, Elsie, Venango, Madrid, Wallace, Brule, Keystone Ogallala and Lemoyne Volunteer Fire Departments as well as the Perkins County Ambulance crew met at the fairgrounds and following a short briefing from the Nebraska State Fire Marshals, geared up and prepared to test their skills. 

The idea behind this type of live training is to get the firemen more comfortable in their gear and approaching live fire, and become more familiar with how to use their equipment.

For this training simulation, a propane tank was set a blaze and the object was to use the nozzle on the fire hose in such a way that it would create a cone effect, Reichert explained.

Hi-Line Coop had their 1000 gallon propane tank set up and supplying propane to the tank that the crews would be practicing on. The cost of the propane itself was donated for the cause by the Propane Education Research Council. Of course, safety is always a number one priority and the  set up has the capability to shut off in several different ways in case of an emergency, according to Fred Reichert. 

“We’ve got 1000 gallons of propane here, you can go in as many times as you’d like. That’s what we are all here for. Let’s get this technique down now, before its an emergency.” State Fire Marshall Dell Zimmerman told the crews before the training began. 

Throughout the evening, various crews of five, plus instructors took their turn at approaching the fire and create the cone to contain the blaze, while one fireman would reach in and turn off a knob, stimulating a gas or propane shut off valve in a real fire. 

“This is an outstanding opportunity to get that live fire training, and it also gives us an opportunity to work together with our neighboring departments., and we need that. We’ve got to go into emergency situations with that trust in each other.,” Reichert said.