TRAINING DAYS
April 4, 2011
Training Days
Firefighters use various buildings for ongoing training exercises
Karen Lungu
klungu@ccdailyrecord.com
Cañon City Area Fire Protection District has found creative ways to train, using old buildings and condemned homes to advance fire fighting techniques and instruction for full time staff and volunteers. The department recently wrapped up several weeks of training in the former Harrison School building before it was torn down.
“We utilized the building for all kinds of different trainings,” said CCAFD Lt. Scott Johnson. “We used it for search trainings, hose line advancement trainings, ventilation training, building construction, forcible entry, aerial operations and aerial ladder placement.”
The department was able to use the Harrison building for every facet of fire fighting training, Johnson said.
“We recorded 603 staff hours of training,” he said. “We trained there two weeks before and two weeks after the asbestos abatement.”
Though they train at the station, CCAFD often is on the lookout for buildings they can use for additional training.
“We look for them,” he said. “People are tearing them down, or there is demolition going on.”
On Tuesday, the department used the home next to the Gasamat. They also have had some training at the former Sky Valley Motel.
“When houses are being demolished, the owners often call us first,” Johnson said. “We use them as much as we can until they are demolished.”
The advantage of using other buildings is training offers new experiences for the firefighters.
“We do what we can to set up mazes around the fire station,” Johnson said, “but, sooner or later, it doesn’t take very long to figure out what everyone knows like the back of their hand. When we get new houses and new buildings we can train in, it’s that much more effective.”
The department uses theatrical smoke to simulate fires, and obscure the vision throughout a building being used for trainings.
“It’s semi-realistic,” Johnson said. “The only thing we lack is the heat and the fire.”
We really appreciate the school district for the use of the Harrison building for so long, Johnson said.
“We thank everybody for their donation of buildings, but that one was a little bit special because it was unique,” he said. “The size of it and the things we were able to do to it were different. The age and structure were unique.”
Some of the firefighters attended the former Harrison School as students and joked about getting a second education there by using the building for training.
“Some of our firefighters went there to school in the 70s and 60s,” Johnson said. “It was interesting to hear them go down memory road.”
The department welcomes the donation of more buildings from the Fremont County area for firefighting training. For more information or to donate a building for use, call 275-8666.
OPEN BURNING PERMITS NOW REQUIRED
January 30, 2009
Open burning permits required inside city fire district boundaries
Debbie Bell
The Daily Record
In an effort to create a safer environment, the Cañon City Area Fire Protection District now is requiring open burning permits inside its boundaries.
“We wanted to have a little better control over open burning,” said Chief Dan Brixey.
Permits are free of charge and take only minutes to obtain from either fire station.
“This is a tool we can utilize to make certain regulations are followed,” Brixey said.
In addition to the permit, each applicant also will receive a copy of all local burning regulations. Confined to a single page, the regulations are not lengthy but are important, Brixey said.
Open burning is permitted only with agricultural sources and during daylight hours. No burning is allowed within 50 feet of a structure, and a garden hose connected to a water supply or other approved fire-extinguishing equipment must be available at all times.
In addition, the person responsible for burning must call the fire department office each day, before lighting the fire, to obtain permission depending on current fire conditions.
Other regulations are spelled out in the permit. The permit is issued per user, who must be on site and may be responsible for burns at different addresses at different times. The permit must be on that person during each burn.
“We’ll utilize this to help better control open burning, so hopefully it doesn’t get away from people,” Brixey said. “That has been a problem in the past.”
The permit will be good for one calendar year and must be renewed at the beginning of each year. Failure to obtain a permit is a violation of the Fire Code, but Brixey said the first year will be a learning tool. The department is not looking to write violations.
“The fire district recognizes that the permit process is new, and would like to provide this information prior to the spring burning season,” Brixey said. ““Burning is a privilege, not necessarily a right.” Many other communities do not allow open burning within their boundaries.
“With that privilege comes responsibility that you don’t burn your neighbor out of his house and home.”
Permits are available from Fire Station 1 at 1475 N. 15th St., and Fire Station 2, 1349 Elm Ave. For more information on the required permits or open burning, call the main fire house at 275-8666.
