Norwich
In Norwich, it’s happened just twice during the past decade, said Fire Chief Stephen Leinoff.
One took place last year in a donated home on Upper Loveland Road. The other finished up Saturday at 80 Route 5, a yellow, two-story building that had served as the Upper Valley Events Center.
Live fire training involves starting controlled fires inside a building so firefighters can practice their skills under conditions similar to those in a real structure fire. Such exercises are “a little more realistic” than what’s offered in the academies’ burn buildings, Leinoff said.
Norwich made the most of the opportunity, inviting area fire departments to take part in onsite training, which began weeks ago. Saturday’s sessions drew fire instructors and 61 firefighters from Lebanon, Hanover, Hartford, Lyme, Norwich and Thetford. Members of the Bradford, Vt., Fire Department refilled air tanks, part of the self-contained breathing apparatus that allows firefighters to work inside a smoke-filled building for up to 20 minutes at a time.
“We don’t get a lot of fires around here, which is fortunate,” Leinoff said, and roughly half calls the Norwich Fire Department receives are medical.
Very simply, the training lets firefighters “actually apply water to a fire and work with breathing apparatus.”
Throughout the day, pale tan smoke billowed out of holes cut in the roof for ventilation, and firefighters adjusted plywood covering the windows as needed to release smoke and heat.
Crews rotated in and out of the wooden building, where they did search-and-rescue drills and fought fires that had been started in pallets and piles of hay.
The firefighters were split up into seven crews, each representing a variety of towns. Several said they appreciated the chance to team up.
Thanks to fire prevention efforts and building codes requiring sprinkler and early warning systems, fires are “way down” overall, said Lebanon Fire Capt. Andrew White.
“This is a great opportunity” for different departments to train together, White said Saturday. The experience helps them identify their strengths and weaknesses.
Crews leaving the building were called to a medical tent, where Thetford Deputy Chief Mariah Whitcomb and others checked their vital signs and provided bottled water.
“It’s really easy to get overheated, even on a day like today,” Whitcomb said.
Property owner Olivia Genereaux visited the site Saturday, stopping to talk with firefighters.
She was “really happy” to have offered up the building, the Hanover resident said in an interview. “We’re really lucky to have (the firefighters) here to help if we need it. They’re a dedicated group of men and women.”
The house, built in 1950, has had a number of different uses over the years. Most recently it was a rental property.
Over time, wear and tear led to “diminishing returns,” and investing in repairs didn’t make sense, said Genereaux, who plans to plant trees in the footprint.
In the background, truck engines hummed. Radios squawked as firefighters communicated from inside the building.
As with a structure fire, a number of checks were in place to ensure firefighters’ safety, including a tag system showing who was inside the building at any given time. Each company had someone in charge of keeping track of where the firefighters were.
Their job is to send everyone home in the same condition as when they arrived, Leinoff said, grinning. “With maybe a little bit of reasonable wear and tear.”
Aimee Caruso can be reached at acaruso@vnews.com or 603-727-3210.