Reporter Chad Lawhorn and 6News reporter/anchor Janet Reid were among 15 community members taking part in Saturday’s FIREOPS 101 training program. The event was sponsored and financed by the Lawrence chapter of the firefighters union. The burning “building” the students “saved” was the burn tower at the department’s training center at 19th Street and Haskell Avenue. The exercise was one of four drills that the participants were run through during the training. Chad Lawhorn wrote about the event. There was also a television story.

Moderator

Hi: This is Journal-World reporter Chad Lawhorn. I’ll be moderating this chat, and also answering questions. 6News reporter Janet Reid, who also participated in the training exercise, is not able to be here at the moment. We’ll get started.

fyrdog1

First of all, thanks to all of you for going through the training and scenarios. I want to know what impact this training and scenario has had on you and how you see the Firefighter job differently now.

Chad Lawhorn

I knew that firefighting was a physical job, but I didn’t realize that nearly every part of it is so physically demanding. Even doing chest compressions as part of CPR for five or 10 minutes causes your back to ache. I also just never thought of how many different pieces there are to the puzzle, so to speak. It isn’t just about grabbing a hose and attacking a fire. There are people running the pumps, turning on hydrants, a team of firefighters standing by to do resecue operations. It is just a lot more complicated than I thought. The biggest impression the day left on me, though, is that it can get pretty mentally tough to be a firefighter. We didn’t experience that firsthand, but listening to some of the stories the firefighters had about dealing with death and injury, drove that point home.

fyrdog1

what did you think of the training and exercises you were put through

Chad Lawhorn

We had four exercises that we went through. First, was an exercise where we went into the burn tower and attacked a pile of burning pallets. That exercise provided the oddest sensation of the four. That’s because we were using the actual air tanks and the special masks. That was unique. I’ll also always remember the sensatation of suddenly losing vision as the water hit the fire. The steam just completly covered my mask.

Chad Lawhorn

The second scenario was going through a special trailer that was made to look like a home. Our mission was to find and recover victims that were trapped in the fire. This time the smoke was fake, so we didn’t have to wear the air masks, although we did carry the air tanks to simulate the weight that firefighters carry. This was the most physically demanding part of the day for me. First I found a 160 pound mannequin. You do all the dragging with your upper body, because you have to remain on your knees to stay out of the bulk of the smoke. The second time, I drug an actual firefighter who weighed closer to 185. That exercise winded me more than the others.

Chad Lawhorn

The third scenario was extrication from a vehicle. Great stress relieving exercise. Got to bust windows out and use big power tools to cut a roof off a truck. What struck me there was that these firefighters know a lot about different types of cars. Like where the door pin is that needs to be cut to get the door to fall off. Where the weak parts of a car are and where the strong parts are. Lots of stuff I never thought of.
The fourth exercise simulated what medics do to try to revive a patient who has suffered cardiac arrest. It was all very interesting. I suprised at how much easier it is to do when you have a crew of five or six people as opposed to just two.

grust

What do you believe to be the greatest challenge a firefighter faces? Do the fighters believe they receive adequate training and equipment?

Moderator

I think it would be the mental side of it. Just staying mentally sharp the whole time would be a challenge for me. I still don’t know how they get awakened in the middle of the night and start functioning immediately on a call. I asked, and they told me they really don’t sleep much, and certainly not very deeply, as part of their 24-hour shift.

NoOneSpecial

Who are some people that you would have liked to see participate in this event?

Chad Lawhorn

I haven’t really thought about it much. I guess it would have been neat to see one of Lawrence’s premier athletes participate to see how they handled the physical activity. As the former Business Editor here at the paper, I’m always for involving the business community more. Maybe one or two leaders of the largest private employers in town. Also maybe a leader from the Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods or some other homeowners group. But I thought the group we had was a good one. I don’t think it could have been much larger and functioned well.

justthefacts

Who generally gets paid a higher salary; reporters or fire-fighters?

Chad Lawhorn

Don’t know. Sorry.

Moderator

That was the last question we had. As I was looking back at the past questions, I realize I didn’t answer the second part of one question. It was about whether the firefighters felt the received adequete training and equipment. They didn’t say anything to me at the event to indicate that they didn’t. But as a reporter covering City Hall, I know fire department leaders have told commissioners that they need new trucks and other additional equipment.
Thanks for the questions.