Base, city fire departments conduct rare training

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Mike Tryon
  • 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs
Last week, the base fire department and Cheyenne, Wyo., Fire Rescue conducted a joint training exercise in the soon-to-be demolished area of Carlin Heights, F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.

The training consisted of comparing firefighting tactics and strategies as well as an opportunity to transform book knowledge into practice.

"It was great of [the] Balfour Beatty [Communities] to let us use base housing for this non-typical training," said Master Sgt. Michael Falzone, 90th Civil Engineer Fire Department assistant chief of training. "Our firefighters were provided with a rare opportunity to get some good quality, hands-on experience in areas that usually must be simulated."

During the joint training exercise, both the base and city fire departments got a chance to perform some rare vertical ventilation training, said Senior Master Sgt. Rejan Plante, 90th CES Fire Department deputy fire chief.

"In my 21-year career, I've only seen training such as this outside the schoolhouse maybe once or twice," Plante said. "In our training area, the 'smoke house,' everything is in a controlled, simulated and safe environment. There's a big difference from performing vertical ventilation on a piece of plywood in the smoke house than there is on an actual building.

"The height and angle of the pitched roofs in base housing provide the realism often missing from a fire simulator," Plante added.

Vertical ventilation consists of using an axe or saw to cut a four-foot by four-foot hole in a roof in order to allow the release of superheated smoke and gases. A halligan, which is a multipurpose firefighting tool, can be used to locate and mark the studs of a roof, and remove shingles prior to cutting. It is important for the vertical ventilation to be done as directly above the fire as possible, as to not spread the fire into unburned areas of the building.

"If you tried performing a vertical ventilation on the opposite side of the house from where the fire was, for example, the smoke, heat and fire would spread across the house to the newly oxygenated hole you created," Plante explained.

While vertical ventilation always the method used in fighting a fire, it can be a useful tool to lower the temperature inside a structure and increase visibility, Falzone said.

"It was great having the [the city department] come out for training," Falzone said. "We have the opportunity to compare practices and test out new ideas; it's how we grow as firefighters."

The base fire department personnel are hoping to continue their training with the city and other fire departments in the Carlin Heights area as long as weather allows, Falzone added.