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Local firefighter recruits practice their skills at live burn

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – To be a firefighter, you have to want it — badly.

The latest recruits for the Carmel and Westfield Fire departments are finishing up their training with live fire drills. Both departments are working together during the grueling process, but if you ask the recruits, they say they couldn’t be more excited for this step.

On Thursday morning, recruits had their first chance to deal with what’s called a live burn — where they practiced on real flames in a controlled situation.

The first six weeks recruits spent time becoming state-certified EMTs. The second part of training has been spent in fire school.

During fire school, they learn the skills essential to being a firefighter, such as search and rescue, fire suppression and ventilation, and vehicle extrication. Recruits also learn how to save their own in case of an emergency, learning from past firefighter deaths into account.

“You got to stay low when you’re going in. You can feel the heat rises so you have to stay low,” said one recruit. “You got to remember to keep your head up, you’re looking left and right, you’re searching for rooms, looking for victims. If you find a victim, you got to get that victim out,” he continued.

These guys and girl started last November. Many of them had been applying to be a part of this recruitment class for about two years. The goal by the end of the program in late March is that these new firefighters not only graduate but also have the skills needed to help keep their communities safe.

The partnership between the two departments is key to training. Just like in civilian life, the neighboring departments work hand-in-hand regularly.

You can check out the Carmel Fire Department YouTube page. You can find the link here.

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