Firefighter For a Day Program a Real Eye Opener

Growing up in a family in which my father and his two brothers made firefighting a career, I thought I knew more about firefighting than the average person. I remember the stories, the firsthand accounts that I would hear when my dad came home from work or at family gatherings with his brothers when they would talk about their profession.

Hearing stories does not compare to actually experiencing what I did on Saturday morning. Thanks to the town of Manchester Firefighters Union Local 1579 and the officers of the Town of Manchester Fire Department, I experienced being the lead person and back up person in putting out a fire, was part of a team that cleared a smoke filled second floor searching for anyone that needed to be brought to safety and then used the cutting tool and separation tool to open an automobile so that a potentially severely injured person inside could be given needed medical attention. 

Preparations for Saturday morning began last Monday afternoon when I went to Fire Headquarters and was professionally measured for a face mask/shield that would cover my face, protecting my skin, eyes and most importantly my lungs. Thursday evening I was fitted for the pants, boots, suspenders, jacket, gloves and goggles. Saturday morning I brought the gear with me to the Connecticut Fire Academy in Granby where over twenty members of the town of Manchester Firefighters Union volunteered their time to show me and 8 others A Day in the Life of a Firefighter.  

Mayor Diana, Deputy Mayor Moran, Director Topping, General Manager Shanley, Director Kissmann, Molly Devanney, Tim Devanney Jr., and Human Resources Specialist Valerie Kerr and I, arrived at the Fire Academy at 8:00am for a briefing on the events of the day. Soon we were assigned to a Professional Firefighter that would be our partner for the day. I was paired up with Roger Thrall and from the very start he put me at ease. We grabbed our gear and headed to the concrete building that we would be working in and out of for the day.  

Once we had our gear on, and it certainly takes some practice to get it on the correct way, we headed inside to get a preview of the building. We actually got to see the building without the fire and the smoke; this is something that Firefighters do not get to do before they have to go into the burning structures that they race to every day. We were also shown the pallets and hay that would be lit on fire for our exercise, again contemplating that this is not the full effect as our Professional Firefighters have to deal with burning plastic, furniture, electrical appliances and a whole host of other things when they enter a burning structure all of which are more hazardous than what we experienced. 

We came back out and the building was closed, filled with smoke and lit on fire. We worked in three teams so that each group got to experience firsthand all three exercises. The door opened and the search team went in going up to the second floor. We entered on our hands and knees, staying low because smoke rises. We entered the room which contained the fire and I was given instructions to hit the ceiling with the water in a figure-eight motion so that the water would fall on top of the fire and the resulting steam would pull air out of the fire suffocating it. We exited the building and prepared to enter a second time. This time I backed up my partner pulling the hose behind me and pushing it forward so that we could get the hose to the fire. Thinking in retrospect on this, we didn't go very far into the building, it has got to be extremely more difficult for a Firefighter especially when the fire is in the basement or on the second or third floor of a structure and you need to get a charged hose to it. 

The next exercise was being a part of the search team. We went to the second floor again, on our hands and knees with tools so that we could search the pitch black rooms for anyone that might be trapped. We found an article on the floor that was in the shape and weight of a child and worked to take it to safety. That is when I discovered that there is a correct way to use the breathing support. I had been taking too deep of breaths and ran my oxygen down to 1000lbs so I had to exit the building. Under normal conditions the entire team would have had to go out as one person is not left by themselves in a fire. This exercise was very difficult as the protective gear is heavy, being on hands and knees crawling on cement is hard and carrying what felt like a heavy searching tool just adds to it. I just searched a couple of rooms, teams of firefighters have to search several rooms on different floors each time they have a major structure fire. 

We then moved on to one of the two cars that were donated by Parker Street Used Auto Parts. This was extremely interesting because different cars are made different ways. Not everything on a car is in the same place, for example the battery on a car today isn't always under the hood. It was very interesting to use the separating tool and the cutting tool to take the car off of the person. It is reasonable to believe that if a person is trapped in a car you want to get them out, however the opposite is correct. In order to give the person trapped in a car the best chance of not suffering further injury, it is important to open the car to gain full access to the injured person. We are fortunate that the Town of Manchester Fire Department has the up-to-date tools to do this very efficiently and properly. 

Our final experience for the day was back inside as Manchester's Professional Firefighter/Paramedic Team, about 10 people all together, answered a full cardiac arrest. I became even more grateful to live in Manchester, as I witnessed our highly trained professional Firefighter/Paramedics work to bring a mannequin back to life. We are so fortunate to have these people and their dedicated hearts and positive attitudes. How many lives have been saved because they are there and they have the training and commitment that they do?

My day as a Firefighter gave me a glimpse as to the bravery, dedication and commitment of our Firefighters and a deep gratitude for the professional people that serve Manchester. Chief Bycholski and President Suhie, as a citizen and a community leader please accept my gratitude for the brave men and women that protect us every day. Thank you so much for the experience you provided.