| Saturday April 2 was the time for an acquired house burning training at the very point where Carroll, Frederick, Howard, and Montgomery Counties come together. A large 19th century home was provided by the owner for training firefighters in live burn situations. This house sat only feet from the point where the four counties come together. The owner allowed the Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company to prepare the house for training purposes and conduct the live burns. All the appropriate permits were obtained and the house set up with all safety precautions in place prior to the training. The line officers and training officer did a thorough job of adhering to all required safety procedures, and conducted a terrific drill which over 50 personnel benefited. Personnel and units from all four counties were present to train. These companies were Mount Airy, Lisbon, Winfield, Sykesville, Laytonsville, New Market, and Lineboro. Over 12 scenarios were carried out and each crew had multiple opportunities to attack different interior fire situations. Personnel were also able to hone their skills on apparatus driving and operating, rural water supply, and exterior hose line operations. The interaction with our neighboring companies will also prove valuable when we ask for their assistance, or go to assist them on fire incidents.
At approximately 1400 hours, the house was allowed to continue burning unabated until it was totally destroyed. The owner is planning to build a new home to replace the aged, somewhat dilapidated house. It only took a little over an hour for the house to be completely burned down to the basement.
The live burn training we get from these types of drills is invaluable in furthering the experience level of our newer firefighters. It is a real bonus when we get this type of opportunity. It has been over 10 years since we have been able to do a live burn in Mount Airy. We have gone to other companies when they have these training sessions, but we have been unable to get one done over the past several years due to permitting issues, safety concerns, and location problems. We very much appreciate the generosity of Billy Crouse, the owner of the house, for allowing us to use this house for such valuable training.
As a side note to this training, support services for the personnel was provided by a group of MAVFC members and their families to keep food and drink available for the participants all day long. Hydration and nutrition is an integral part of any long duration training session and our non-firefighting personnel showed that they were up to the task of taking care of the drill participants, including the rehab and blood pressure monitoring done by some our active members. By all accounts, the personnel were well taken care of during this training. At the end of the day, there were no injuries, no destroyed equipment, and a very successful training day complete.
If you wish to view additional video and photos of this training, visit https://oldnatlpikehouseburning4216.shutterfly.com/ or go to www.carrollcountytimes.com |
