More than 40 county and Woodstock firefighters trained in a burning house last week and three top city officials got to join in.
Woodstock Fire Chief Dave Soumas said he invited the mayor and city council to participate as a way to show them the equipment taxpayers have purchased for the fire department and what it’s like being a firefighter.
Temperatures soared higher than 1,000 degrees in the first room set on fire in a home on Noonday Street Jan. 27, which is what the mayor and two city council members experienced.
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Erika Neldner | Ledger-News
Firefighters hose down an intentionally set fire at a home on Noonday Street following a day of Burn to Learn training, which took several months to plan. After the day of training, firefighters burned the home, which had been scheduled to be demolished, in a controlled atmosphere.
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Mayor Donnie Henriques, Ward 2 City Councilman Chris Casdia and Ward 4 Councilwoman Tracy Collins suited up in full firefighter’s gear and each was accompanied by a trained firefighter.
“I thought it was good for them to know what we do,” Soumas said of inviting the elected officials to participate. “You can tell city council, ‘Hey, we need a thermal imaging camera,’ but to have them sit down in there and actually get to see the tools they purchase, you couldn’t put a price tag on that. They got to see how hard and dangerous firefighting is. I hope they will go back and tell the other council members, ‘these guys are doing a good job.’”
The elected officials were instructed to remain calm and breathe normally through their masks—if they grabbed at their facemasks, firefighters were instructed to drag them out.
All three remained inside the burning, smoke-filled room for about 10 to 15 minutes. They were shown how to locate fallen firefighters or fire victims using a thermal imaging camera and also watched as firefighters put out the flames.
“For an old guy like me it’s kind of strenuous because you have 40 to 50 pounds of equipment—it’s restraining,” Henriques said, adding it reinforced the respect for the job firefighters do. “It wasn’t scary at all. I was excited about going in and witnessing it. I never felt fearful. It was extremely interesting to see what they do and see the thermal imaging equipment.”
Henriques didn’t stay for the all-day training but believes it’s valuable training.
“From my standpoint, it makes me understand why you might want to have a voluntary early retirement program for police and fire,” he said. “I can’t imagine a guy 65 years old, even in good shape, wanting to continue doing that. It would be too taxing on the body.”
Casdia said he chose to accept Soumas’ invitation to see what it’s like being a firefighter.
“It’s not easy to move around and be agile in all that gear. It’s heavy, it’s cumbersome. They have to do a very stressful job that requires strength, endurance, calm nerves, the whole deal,” he said. “It really exposed me first hand to the risks that the firefighters endure and are exposed to and the need for the equipment that they have. I get it—I understand the need for it.”
Collins, a former police officer, said the “once-in-a-lifetime experience” was exciting.
“It gives me a new appreciation for the firemen and what they do everyday,” she said. “I wish we could have done all the houses through there. It was very beneficial, and (I) wish they could do it more often.”
The city acquired the home, which was on property planned for Hedgewood Properties’ second phase of Woodstock Downtown and was foreclosed on, from First Cherokee State Bank. All of the homes on Noonday Street are set for demolition this month, Soumas said.
Soumas said the project took several months to complete because they had to acquire the property, clean the overgrown yard, get permits from the Environmental Protection Division and prepare the home to be burned. The city’s public works department pulled the shingles off the roof and ripped the carpet out. Tin was placed over the areas where the fires were to be set, and it also covered the windows to keep the house dark.
Soumas said the Burn to Learn training was conducted under national safety regulations by the National Fire Protection Agency.
“You don’t want people getting hurt during training,” Soumas said. “Safety of the men was on our minds the whole time. That is the number one priority… their safety.”
Soumas said 44 firefighters, from Woodstock Fire and Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services, participated.
“You couldn’t put price tag on the working relationship these guys built working together,” Soumas said.
While being able to conduct training in a controlled, live burn situation isn’t available to do all the time, Soumas said it’s important that they get to do it when they can.
“This is more true to life training that they would run into everyday,” he said. “I heard such good things. It’s invaluable training.”
