Firefighters follow the scenarios of actual fire deaths in training
 
By Rachael Joyner
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Wellington Firefighter Melissa Daragan sprawled out on the concrete, her body limp and face buried in an air mask. In full gear, Lt. Mike Reece and Firefighter Jim Bass twisted rope into a figure-eight, using it to lift Daragan off the ground.

The three county firefighters were practicing techniques Tuesday that could save lives, perhaps their own.

Reece shared with his team at Fire Station 30 what he had learned during a training session last week on how to save firefighters trapped or injured in burning buildings.

"It's all about knowing as much as you can, so you can do what it takes to save someone when you're in that situation," said Bass, who's been with Fire-Rescue for 16 years.

Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue holds a yearly Save Your Own training, where firefighters practice saving each other in a mock fire scene, spokesman Capt. Don DeLucia said. All new recruits also go through the training.

Though it isn't required, many fire-rescue departments do similar training as a way to decrease firefighter deaths.

Nationally, 89 firefighters died while on duty last year; 22 were in building fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

During last week's training, Fire-Rescue officials and firefighters from other communities in Palm Beach County gathered at an abandoned two-story house on Forest Hill Boulevard to practice saving each other. The group ran four simulations, each based on an actual incident in which a firefighter died.

"We're learning from other people's misfortunes," DeLucia said. "If we take care of our own, it helps us take care of everyone else."

Training firefighters to save themselves has been done for more than five years, but departments around the nation got a sobering reminder of its importance on June 18, when nine Charleston, S.C., firefighters died in a sofa store blaze after the roof caved in.

"It's only made us more aware of how important this training is," said Reece, who's been with Fire-Rescue eight years.

Most of the Save Your Own techniques teach firefighters how to apply leverage, using things such as axes, ropes and poles to move firefighters to safety.

While such training is important, it needs to be taught in conjunction with incident management to prevent accidents, said David Daniels, director of safety, health and survival for the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

"We need to teach folks not to get in trouble in the first place," he said.

Still, accidents happen and trapped firefighters are a reality, which is why this training is valuable, Reece said.

"It takes heart and skills to pull somebody out," he said. "You can't do it on heart alone. You have to have both."

Copyright 2007 South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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