By Jeanette DeForge
masslive.com
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Breathing through an air tank, firefighter Brian Mackey practiced crawling through a wooden box, pushing aside loose beams, wires and other impediments.
Students watched his progress, witnessing the first test of gear they built and donated to the Springfield Fire Department.
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Mackey may have been the first one through, but others will follow. Firefighters and trainees will use the obstacle course — as well as practice unfurling hoses as quickly as possible from a wooden cart designed and built to simulate a fire truck’s storage box.
On Wednesday, a half-dozen carpentry students from the Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy formally delivered the “entanglement box,” hose cart and a wooden structure designed to simulate a small box.
All the equipment was built at the request of fire officials to be used for training.
“It is a huge benefit for us to have this equipment to train realistically,” Fire Chief Bernard J. Calvi said. “If we bought a commercial prop like this it would have cost us thousands of dollars.”
And one that was purchased wouldn’t meet the needs of the fire department as well as the equipment built by the Springfield carpentry students, he said.
The idea came from Deputy Chief Robert Duffy, who wanted training equipment to simulate dangerous situations firefighters sometimes find themselves in when they are working in a burning building.
He drew up basic ideas and asked Putnam teachers if their students could help, said Fire Capt. Martin Burgos .
The students completed the blueprints and build a cart on wheels that matches the storage unit in a firetruck where hoses are located. Firefighters who are first to respond to a scene pull out the hoses, which are already attached to the truck’s water tank, as quickly and efficiently as possible so they can douse flames minutes after arriving at a fire, Burgos said.
The cart built by students allows firefighters to practice setting up hoses in a variety of situations without ever moving the truck, he said.
Firefighters train on the truck, but having the cart makes it easier and means they don’t have to rapidly return the hoses to their right location in case they get a call, said Benjamin Franco, a firefighter.
Franco’s brother, also named Benjamin, is a 10th grader and one of the students who built the cart. He put his arm around his sibling when he visited and thanked him for the good work.
Jorniel Moldonado, a 10th grader, said he learned a ton while his class built the cart.
“We learned how to work with other shops because we had to collaborate with sheet metal to build the brackets,” he said. “We learned how to attach wheels. That was good.”
Anticipating fire scene’s chaos
The box Mackay was climbing through is designed to help firefighters learn how to handle a situation in which a ceiling collapses, complete with wires that can get hung up on their air packs or turnout gear. Lumber pieces were also bolted in one side that they had to push aside to get through.
A taller structure simulates the framing of a bathroom or closet. To escape, firefighters often have to break through walls, but tricky spots are added to simulate plumbing or other things that may be between wall studs.
“These simulate real life,” Burgos said of the training boxes. “You will have things falling on you and drop ceilings collapse.”
The collaboration between Putnam students and the fire department is not new. The school often sends students in the auto mechanic department to do internships in its repair department. They learn to fix and maintain fire trucks and other vehicles and equipment while still in school.
During the unveiling of the simulation boxes, Calvi introduced two of the department’s younger mechanics who are Putnam graduates hired right after they earned their diplomas.
Daniel Mendez Chaz, a 10th grader, said it is a great feeling to see projects he has worked on being used in the city.
“I love measuring and having fun and helping out the community,” he said. “I look forward every day to carpentry.”
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno touted Putnam students as among the best in the state and even the country and talked about how they have used their skills in many ways. Those include enhancing the city’s parks and golf courses and building bookcases for elementary schools.
“This really means a lot, what you did,” Sarno said. “These props are crucial for firefighter training and firefighter safety.”
Superintendent Sonia Dinnall said the partnership with the school, the fire department, the parks department and others is invaluable because it gives students true experience and teaches them to solve real problems they will encounter in the future.
“I appreciate the partnership and I appreciate that you trust us,” she said.
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