By Kevin Cole
The Omaha World-Herald (Nebraska)
OMAHA, Neb. — Firefighters from across the state and around the country have begun taking advantage of a state-of-the-art public safety training facility in northwest Omaha even before it’s completed.
Lt. Todd Wernet of the Seattle Fire Department said it’s easy to see why firefighters from as far away as British Columbia have signed up for seminars in Omaha.
“This is probably the best fire training facility that I’ve seen in the entire country,” Wernet said. “When it’s finished, I would put this above our new training center in Seattle, and we’ve poured millions of dollars into that.”
Omaha voters approved a bond issue to build an Omaha Public Safety Training Center in 1998. After a series of delays, the project was started near 115th Street and Rainwood Road.
A 72,000-square-foot building for police and fire training, costing $9.6 million, is nearing completion. It is going up between a new National Guard Armory and a new four-story fire training tower. The tower was also part of the 1998 bond issue.
This week firefighters from Iowa and Nebraska are learning a variety of new techniques for ladder truck crews.
Another weeklong seminar will be held in September, Omaha Battalion Chief Joe Mancuso said. Firefighters from Washington, Colorado and Canada have already signed up for that seminar.
On Tuesday, Wernet and four other instructors were teaching vertical ventilation techniques that are used on flat and pitched roofs to prevent backdrafts and flash-overs. Temporary roof structures were built to practice on at the site. The training is reality based, helping firefighters make decisions on where to cut access through the roof in a matter of seconds.
Forced entry and rescue techniques will be practiced today.
While Omaha firefighters will eventually do the training, this week’s fire training seminar is being run by Firetown Training, a California-based company, and is staffed by professional firefighters like Wernet.
“We get expenses and that’s about it,” Wernet said. “The main thing is spreading the craft — and it is a craft — of professional firefighting. We’re here because we want to save lives.”
Copyright 2008 The Omaha World-Herald Company