Training for the Real Thing
Above left: January, 2006 - Firefighters utilize the new
burn trailer lab to experience fire behavior and interior fire attack. The
construction of the trailer was a joint Chardon/Hambden Fire Department
effort.
Above left: February, 2005 - Firefighters practice bail out
drills in the old Village Music Shop. The site is now home to Baskin
Robbins/Dunkin Donuts. Above Right: June, 2005 - Crew members stand-by at a
University Hospitals MedEvac landing.
Above: June, 2005 - Chardon firefighters learn how to
contain and extinguish Liquid Propane Gas and flammable liquid storage tank
fires at Lubrizol Corp. in Painesville, Ohio.
Above Left: June, 2005 - Firefighters Clayton Kovats and Kristen
Boehnlein work with a deck gun to achieve optimal reach. Above Right: Chardon
Fire personnel train on a new rapidly-deployed R.A.M. master stream device.
Above left: August, 2004 - Chardon EMT Brian Valletto
stands next to Chardon's squad at the Lake County Mass Casualty Incident Drill
at Great Lakes Mall in Mentor. The mock incident involved a ricin gas
attack by terrorists. Above Right: a firefighter mans the decontamination
"shower", waiting for the next victim to be removed.
Above Left: August, 2004 - Firemedic Rachel McCummins fills
out documents at a mock terrorist attack drill in Geauga County. Police,
fire, and EMS/ER departments participated from Geauga, Portage, and Trumbull
Counties.
Above: July, 2003 - After a recent, difficult aerial rescue
from the roof of a building during the annual fireworks display, members of
Chardon Fire Department learn lessons on proper patient removal using the Tower
Ladder truck. Proper knot-tying techniques and other technical rescue
information was provided by Chardon Fire Lt. Gary McKrill, among others.
Above: May, 2003 - Members of Chardon Fire learn to perform a
water supply and aerial operations drill behind Heinen's Supermarket in Chardon
City. Personnel got the opportunity to get real-time pump and ladder
experience on the new Tower Ladder 3349.
In March 2003, Cleveland Metro LifeFlight members
conducted a PEPP course to train members in
emergency care of children. Flight Nurses Harry Reese, Jason Welch, and
Chris Manachi conducted the training.
(Above Left) In March 2003, Lt. Mike Homovec drilled Chardon members
on the Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) concept of attaching an extra air bottle to
a member pretending to be a collapsed firefighter. (Above Right)
Firefighters Kevin Shea and Paul Reinhard work to remove the "victim"
after attaching a bottle from a RIT pack.
(Above) In January, 2003, Chardon Cadet Explorer Post 793 members were trained in the proper way
handle hoselines. Lt. Gary McKrill assisted the cadets in learning nozzle
dynamics
(Above) In October 2001, CFD personnel were trained in the proper way
to quickly bridle (harness) a horse, in order to lead them out of danger
quickly. The 4-H group at the Sundance Kids Ranch on Ravenna Rd. took
great pride in showing our members how to make friends with their animals and
lead them to safety. The training came in useful at a barn fire with
Arabian horses trapped in January 2005.
(Above) In September 2001, crews reviewed operations and supply of the
old 1972 snorkle (now in-service at a fire department in Africa). A local reservoir pond, at a nearby industrial park,
served as the water source. The tanker pumped water out of the pond to the
snorkle, which then pumped it back into the pond. The snorkel has been
replaced with Tower Ladder 3349.
(Above) In May 2001, Fire Chief Larry Gaspar supervises a controlled
burn-down of a barn on Chardon-Windsor Road in Claridon Twp. The drill
allowed fire crews from Burton, Chardon, and Hambden Fire Departments to
practice drafting, water shuttle, and fire ground operations. Several
cadets and new recruits got pump and hose experience.
(Above) In May, 2001, Asst. Chief Tom Hummel Jr. (upper left), Kristen
Boehnlein (upper right), and crew members Chris Fulton & Theresa Reinhart practice rappelling techniques at the station.
(Above) In December, 2000, CFD personnel prepare for the worst during a
mandatory Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) class. The two-day
class trains fire & EMS workers how to recognize and protect themselves from
a variety of hazards.
(Above Left) Veteran Firefighter Bob Painter makes digital pressure adjustments to the
electronic pump panel on Chardon's new engine 3322. (Above Right) Lt. Gary
McKrill reviews large diameter hose flow at a local industrial complex.
(Above
Left) Firemedics Brad
Majetich and Brandon Willman use a smooth bore nozzle to test the efficiency of
a new water supply system. (Above Right) A gated water-delivery device dubbed the "five-headed-monster" is just one of the many pieces of new equipment that our
firefighters train with. This device will optimize water coming from
tankers or water sources such as ponds.
(Above) Firefighter / Paramedic Rachel McCummins emerges from a
training fire after "knocking down" the fire set in a front bedroom.
