Feeling the heat in Lodi
Local firefighters train rescue skills
Local firefighters from eight different departments gathered at Lodi Fire Department’s Station 1 on Monday to train for a different kind of emergency, one where it’s the firefighters who might need saving.
“The No. 1 cause of fatalities among firefighters is sudden cardiac arrest,” said Waterloo Morada Fire Captain Josh Houston. Heat, stress and a myriad of other factors contribute to this risk. That’s on top of some of the other dangers a firefighter may encounter in the course of their taxing job.
Houston was one of several people leading training exercises inside and outside of the fire station including escaping from a second story’s smoke filled-room, performing CPR and other life saving-measures on the ground with a firefighter and locating a trapped firefighter in the dark and smoky basement of the fire station.
“We train a lot in helping other people, but we also have to train in helping ourselves,” Houston said.
One exercise, called rapid intervention crew training, involved having firefighters hang off the ledge of a second-story window while simulated smoke billowed out behind them. The idea is that when firefighters get trapped in a room blocked by smoke and fire, they can call for help and then hang low on the outside of the window to stay out of harm’s way. The rest of the team then brings up a ladder to the hanging firefighter so that he can safely climb down.
Another exercise took firefighters into the pitch black scenario they often encounter while walking through a burning building, with the occasional glow of fire. Thick simulated smoke hung in the air while firefighters followed the sounds of a distress signal and used thermal imaging tools try to locate and rescue a trapped firefighter. This exercise takes place in the basement of Station 1.
The last round of training had firefighters practice life saving measures on another firefighter, performing CPR while removing the bulky gear they wear without interruptions. Fire departments and districts which are participating include Waterloo Morada, Mokelumne, Liberty, Woodbridge, Linden-Peters, Stockton, Thornton, Clements and Lodi.
The training lasted on Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with separate AM and PM groups during their shifts. In order to maintain coverage while they train, fire stations in other districts partner together to cover their stations so not one gets impacted.
They will continue to work on Training on Wednesday and Friday this week as part of quarterly training.