Firefighters use SEMO dorm for high-rise practice

With an updated command system and modified equipment for large building fires, members of five area fire departments trained together for the first time in about 10 years Saturday morning.

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department, Jackson Fire Department, East County Fire Protection District, Gordonville Fire Protection District and Scott City Fire Department all participated in the training session at Towers East residence hall of Southeast Missouri State University. Cape County Private Ambulance and university representatives were also present.

The training session in a vacant high-rise building was an opportunity for area fire departments to train with each other and practice updated procedures for fires in large commercial buildings. A 10-member task force led by Cape Girardeau battalion chief Michael Ramsey has been developing updated standards for firefighting and rescue in large commercial buildings for more than a year.

The standards focus on a different structure for the command system. Two command centers were set up, one in the lobby and one two floors below the floor with the mock fire.

Firefighters also had to adapt to the presence of separate rescue crews that would remove victims so a team could remain on a floor without returning to the bottom of the building.

"It's a lot more positions than people are familiar with," Ramsey said.

Most firefighters were accustomed to working in a small residential rescue scenario where crews can go in and out of the building more easily, according to Cape Girardeau fire chief Rick Ennis.

The training also included hoses adapted for large buildings. Hoses intended for the upper floors of a building cannot always be attached to hydrants or trucks at ground level; they must be attached to other connection points within the building.

"We're always looking to improve and update," Ennis said. "We have a standard operating procedure on high-rise fires, large area fires, and it was just due for an update."

The new system will be applicable not only to high-rise buildings, but also to large industrial buildings.

"This is not just height but width," said Gordonville fire chief Mark Koerber.

Fire chiefs from all five departments expressed their desire to continue to work together.

"You learn with each other when you're around each other," Koerber said. "It's happening more and more all the time."

"We're all seeing the vision," said East County Fire Capt. Dwayne Rirchoff. "The challenges are getting bigger in fire."

The fire officials present could not remember the last time so many fire departments gathered together to train; Ennis and Ramsey estimated the last time was in the late 1990s.

Firefighters went in with their full gear along with hoses and masks. Because an artificial smoke-maker was not used, signs with "FIRE" and "Heavy Smoke" were place on doors to certain rooms to inform the firefighters of their imagined surroundings. Mannequins were also used to simulate victims on the upper floors. At one point, the fire crews created an evacuation scenario for an injured firefighter.

Facilitators were also present to play the role of instructors to guide firefighters if they needed help understanding the new command system.

"Neither of the exercises were perfect," Ennis said, "but we learned a lot."

tthomas@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 197

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Chief Ennis on training

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Fire training highlights and explanations

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Highlights from fire training

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