Live Burn Provides Firefighters With Extra Training

It was hot in Ottertail on Saturday morning. Not because of the weather, though, but because of an acquired structure burn, put on by the Fire and EMS Program at Central Lakes College. The training exercise brought together both new and veteran firefighters from a number of local fire departments. There were multiple levels of burns performed, based on the firefighters’ experience.

While massive house fires don’t happen as regularly in rural communities as urban communities, the extra training still teaches a valuable lesson to all firefighters, regardless of experience. And while this exercise was for both new and veteran firefighters, even the veteran firefighters still learned something from the experience.

The lessons learned here are key to performing the heroic actions of firefighters, at the benefit of the community, which is why many are in the profession.

The Salvation Army provided food and water for the firefighters and onlookers at the training.