FIRE: FIREFIGHTERS SIMULATE REAL BLAZE

Cape Girardeau Fire Capt. Mike Ramsey spent Wednesday morning crawling on the floor of a house off Bloomfield Road, unable to see through his visor, overheating in his flame-retardant gear, with sections of sheetrock bouncing off his helmet.

But the house was not on fire. The abandoned house is slated for demolition, and has been opened by the landlord to the crew of Cape Girardeau Fire Station No. 3 for training in the interim.

Wednesday, Ramsey participated in an exercise simulating the conditions he'd face in a real fire.

Along with partner Jake Nolin, packing tape obscured the Plexiglas visor of his gas mask, simulating smoke. A wool blanket on his back simulated the heat of a blaze. A blaring radio simulated the sound disturbances of a fire -- and firefighter Brad Dillow dropping sections of sheetrock on his helmet simulated, well, sheetrock dropping on his helmet.

"We're doing anything we can to pick up their emotions," said battalion chief Fred Vincel. "We're putting the firefighters in difficult situations, but nothing they wouldn't encounter in a real-life fire."

Exposed mattress box springs and plastic mesh provided no shortage of snags for the blinded firefighters.

Dealing with snags is a skill necessary for navigating around a real blaze, explained Vincel.

Firefighter Mike Rogers said such simulations are valuable to him in that they build teamwork within the two-man firefighting teams.

Also, Rogers said, "it lets you know, I need to work a little more on this or that."