First VRT Drill

Written by Gregory Cazillo Thursday, April 28, 2011 23:32

In case you are new to my blog (and life!) I recently joined the Lionville Fire Company after editing/photographing/designing their 100th Anniversary Book.  I have wanted to join a fire co for a long time but never pursued it.  Last July I was contacted by one of the members and asked to give a quote on a book.  Well to make a long story short I ended up loving the experience, crew, the challenge and the possibility to help people.

This Saturday I start Fire 1 classes which is the basic instruction for firefighters.  Wednesday I picked up my first set of gear, then tonight I was able to participate in my first Vehicle Rescue Training Drill with the company.  I feel like a sponge taking up as much as possible, but there is still so much to learn.  Just remembering where everything is on 4 apparatus is difficult, then add knowing what each thing is makes it more difficult.  Imagine someone saying to you for the first time as a photographer to change your aperture to f4.  You were clueless the first time.

Tonight's VRT drill I was shown proper procedure on how to use a Hurst Tool (jaws of life) and I was able to cut the A pillar off a car.  Amazing how powerful that tool is, no wonder everyone that uses it on a rescue call needs to be properly trained...you could really hurt someone.  The other thing that really amazed me was how fast the fire went up in the other car we drilled with.  It was completely engulfed in flames in a matter of 2 minutes and standing 30+ feet back you could still feel the heat.  There are also other techniques and tools we went over like how to break a window properly on a vehicle, and how to support it properly in a roll-over.  Plenty more to learn that's for sure!

This year is going to be quite exciting and definitely a time to remember, I hope you don't mind me sharing!

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