Firefighters get hands-on training at Fire Conference

Surrounded by thick smoke in a dark cargo container reaching 900 degrees, firefighter John Mellace watched flames unravel overhead as part of a safety exercise

Mellace spent 20 minutes observing the fire to learn about the conditions right before a flashover, which happens when everything inside a closed space gets so hot it bursts into flames.

“It makes us better prepared for if we face a flashover condition,” said Lt. Mellace, a member of the Palm Bay Fire Department.

Mellace was one of nearly 300 firefighters at the 15th Annual Orlando Fire Conference to practice skills such as ventilating a burning building and rappelling. Orlando Fire Department spokesperson Ashley Papagni said the fire department has some specialized equipment that helps firefighters learn during the conference. “With [this] specialized equipment, we’re able to showcase other fire departments that might not have these types of units, and that way there are things like lessons learned or good practices that they can go back to their department and implement,” Papagni said.

Joel Rydberg of Cottleville Fire Protection District in St. Louis enrolled in an air consumption and emergency survival class. The class required him to practice conserving air during a simulated disaster, which helps him prepare for an actual emergency. “It’s kind of cool to come to a different part of the country where maybe they don’t do the same things that they do in our area and you learn different things,” Rydberg said.

Ray McCormack, who has been with the New York City fire department for 35 years, said flames are unpredictable but young firefighters.can learn from the experiences of their elders. “The experience of the instructors that are brought to a conference like this allow the younger generations of firefighters to get that little extra measure of what if this happens,” he said.