Lebanon firefighters train on dousing car fires

Firefighters prepare to attack a car fire during recent training exercises in Sanford. (Courtesy photo)

On May 28 Lebanon Firefighters held their monthly training at the Sanford Fire Department, South Sanford Station. The training was proper tactics for extinguishing vehicle fires. The department used a propane fueled vehicle training prop that was on loan from the Maine Fire Service Institute. The Institute is a department of Southern Maine Community College in South Portland and since the mid 1950s Maine Fire Service Institute has served as the primary organization dedicated to training volunteer and paid firefighters throughout the state of Maine.  

 Lebanon Firefighters performed several “roll-up” scenarios utilizing Engine 1 and Engine 2.  Firefighters were assigned tasks prior to the start of each evolution and carried out their assigned task when they were dispatched to the incident. Crews were dispatched to a mock incident involving a vehicle on fire. The first due engine would respond with a crew from a distance, arrive on-scene, and perform the tasks they were assigned.

  Training objectives included; donning proper Firefighting equipment, the proper placement of apparatus on-scene, scene size up, stretching attack lines, choosing the right water stream to attack the fire, extinguishing the fire, overhaul, and placing all of the equipment back in-service.

 “This type of training is invaluable for firefighters” said Lebanon Fire Chief Skip Wood.  “We don’t see too many car fires here in Lebanon, and it is important to keep our skills sharp by training in as close to real life situations as possible.”

 The Lebanon Fire Department would like to thank the Maine Fire Service Institute, Harold Smith an Instructor of the Maine Fire Service Institute, and the City of Sanford Fire Department for allowing us to use their facility.

 For more information on the Maine Fire Service Institute.visit: http://www.mfte.org/

For more information on the Lebanon Fire Department visit: http://www.lebanonmefire.org