Dozens of firefighters stood by their trucks watching flames engulf a UAS building just off Mendenhall Loop Road. Bystanders gathered and firefighters took selfies in front of the fire.
The fire was part of a Capital City Fire/Rescue training exercise on July 25. Although they practice regularly at a training facility, firefighters were glad to hone their skills in more realistic scenarios.
“A lot of it is trying to put all the pieces together,” said Fire Chief Richard Etheridge. “They’re taking all the small skills, the one-person things, trying to put it together and orchestrate it so everything happens in time and in the right sequence.”
With limited experience in real-world emergencies, combining these skills can be critical.
“There’s never enough training,” said Assistant Chief Ed Quinto. “Especially when your life and other people’s lives depend on it.”
After running a series of drills like fire suppression, ventilation, and victim rescue, firefighters withdrew and let the flames take over the building.
And as for the property owners, “It saves them some disposal costs,” said Etheridge. “Because it is quite expensive to put a building in a landfill. … It’s kind of good for everybody.”
