Training keeps firefighters prepared

Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
FIRE TRAINING — Local firefighters held a training session on combating propane fires Sept. 27. Fire Prevention Week is this week, Oct. 9-15.
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — The key to staying sharp in any line of work is training. However, in no line of work is that training more crucial, and life-dependent, than fire fighting.
    To that end the Houlton Fire Department, along with members of the Hodgdon, Littleton, Linneus and Monticello fire departments, conducted a training session Sept. 27 on Class B-type fires involving propane.
    “There is a certain amount of training that we do on an annual basis,” Houlton Fire Chief Milton Cone said. “Training on Class B burns, like the one we did, we do not do on an annual basis because of the cost involved.”
    A Class B fire is a fire that involves flammable liquid or gasses. The most effective way to extinguish a liquid- or gas-fueled fire is by “inhibiting the chemical chain reaction of the fire,” according to Wikipedia.
    Dead River Company worked with the local fire departments by donating the propane for the training, as well as having employees on the clock monitoring the gas training exercises. Cone estimated the firefighters used about 500 gallons.
    “This exercise gives a realistic training scenario for any fire that has LP involved with it,” Cone said. “It’s pretty hard to duplicate. When we do training like this, a lot of prep work has to go along with it. It’s a controlled situation, but it’s still a dangerous situation. We can talk about it in the classroom for hours, but until they experience it for themselves, there will be a question in their mind of does this system work? The hands-on aspect of training is truly priceless.”
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
ON THE ATTACK — Local firefighters from Houlton, Hodgdon, Littleton, Linneus and Monticello spent a few weeks learning how to combat propane fires as part of a yearly training seminar. The study concluded with a burning exercise at the former town landfill.
    Firefighters first had to do a classroom training session before tackling the live burn scenario. The live training involved the use of a special propane “tree,” which is owned by Dead River Company. The tree shoots a massive fireball up to 20 feet into the sky. Using an “integrated fog pattern” approach, firefighters formed two lines and approached the flaming fireball behind a funnel cone of water. By slowly walking behind the fan of water, firefighters were able to approach a shutoff valve to turn off the propane.
    Cone said the use of such a system to fight a propane fire would depend on where a shutoff valve was located if they were fighting a live burn.
    “This scenario shows, when done properly, you can walk right up to a fire and turn off the supply valve,” Cone said. “We also had two supplies of water for each line, in case something happens to the first line, you still have another source. If you can’t stop the leak, sometimes it’s safer to just let it burn off.”
    Propane is found in so many places and presents unique challenges, Cone said, but when used properly, it is safe for consumers.
    “There are a lot of uses for propane,” he said. “Commercial properties use propane for cooking and heating. And how many people have gas grills in their back yard? It’s a smaller level, but the potential is there.”