New Lethbridge fire recruits “tested by fire”

“They’re safety is obviously first and foremost, making sure that they are safe when putting the fire out, but we also want them to look at any signs or signals that might be malicious activity, like multiple points of ignition or the colour of smoke or the colour of the fire, and whereabouts is the location of that fire -how many fires there are at one time.” explained Wright.

“So we thought it was a good opportunity that we could burn a couple of burn cells and take it to a new point where normal combustibles are used and also ignitable liquids. It’s more than putting out the fire.”

“Having, as we call it, the chain of survival, we’re also looking at the chain of cause and they’re a crucial link in making sure that they are our eyes inside that fire, for what’s first ignited and what is actually on fire when they first entre a building – it’s very, very crucial to an investigation.”

Wright outlined how the burn cells replicated a living room and a bedroom.

” In the bedroom we’ve used some ignitable liquid – gasoline – and we put it in certain places, where past history is usually normal for a person to light-up a fire. So we lit that up, showed how fast it can accelerate and fully involve the bedroom.”

Pouring gasoline on a matress in preparation for the bedroom fire — LNN

The other room was ignited with normal combustibles, which took fire a little bit longer to progress. Wright said that was a good thing, because a smoke detector would alert people and give them time to get out.

“And that’s why we want smoke alarms and first alerts for people to get out safely and as fast as possible.”

Destruction in living room cell after the fire — LNN

Ethan Colenutt was one of the members of the 2019 recruit class, who thought the recruits did a really good job.

“We’ve been doing lots of lectures and it’s kinda cool to see first hand and get some hands-on training with what we’re doing. We’re learning a lot about fire investigation – different causes and different patterns that we’re looking for.”

“I think that the old school mentally is – you put the wet stuff on the hot stuff, as everyone says — and now we’re learning how to look for different patterns and different structures inside, that give us clues that we can relay to fire prevention and really help us dial in on the cause of the fire.”

“In the classroom, it’s laid out in front of you, but when you see it first hand, it’s really a different experience because you get to see it unfolding in real time, you definitely recognize what you learned in the classroom and it’s good to see first hand.”

“The training program is 12 weeks, which I thought was going to be a long time but, there’s a lot of knowledge that we soak in, there’s a lot of fire science, a lot of hands on training and a lot of extras that we try to go above-and-beyond.”

“There’s still lots to learn but, we’re getting more confident everyday”.

Keith Wright noted the Fire Department had some “thank yous” to send out.

“The cell’s were built in partnership with Rocky Cross Construction, who donated the furniture and some of the building supplies that we needed, and McNamara Floors, donated the flooring for the cells.”

Many thanks on behalf of Fire and Emergency services and the City of Lethbridge.

by Dori Modney and Videographer Brandyn Montgomery

New Lethbridge fire recruits “tested by fire”

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