Being a Roanoke City firefighter is harder than it looks. That’s what 13 members of the Citizen’s Fire Academy learned recently. They received some hands-on training as they walked through a smoke house, went up in the ladder of a fire truck and poured water on a burning car.
Hector Clervoi has participated in the Citizen’s Academy since he came to the Star City in 2006.
“Every time I get the opportunity I come to participate.”
“I don’t want to be a firefighter but I just want to get the feeling of how the firefighter feels when they fight the fire. Because it’s easy to see when they do it – but by doing it yourself you can see the difference.”
Clervoi wore a tan fire jacket with reflector strips and a helmet with a face shield. He had just learned how to direct water from a fire hose onto a burning car.
“When you’re watching, it’s like nothing but when you’re the one who is doing it you can feel all the pressure. You really have to know how to hold the hose.”
He said the hardest part of holding the hose was when he was ready to turn on the water, “because all the pressure . . . it can push you back.”
Shirley Livengood is taking the free course to learn CPR and to get a refresher on fire safety. She had a small fire in her stove a few weeks ago, “and the first thing I did was open the door which, of course, I remember now . . .you don’t do that!”
Livengood would “definitely” recommend other residents take the course. She said she’s learned a lot, including the fact that she should replace her ten-year-old smoke detectors. “I change the batteries regularly, but I have never replaced the alarms. So that’s the first thing I’m going to do in the next week or two.”
One of her favorite activities was the Smoke House. “You can’t see in front of your face.” The students held onto a florescent line to stay together but Livengood said, “You literally can’t see anything.”
Dennis Wooten was waiting for his turn to go up in the ladder truck.
“I wanted to learn exactly what they go through and what procedures they use to put out a house fire and all the aspects of being a firefighter.”
He has attended various police and sheriff academies and recommends that people sign up for the Fire Academy “to learn what goes on in the community.”
“The way I found this was in The Roanoke Star, actually. I saw it and said, Wow . . . I think every citizen should do something like this.”
The students will learn about car extrication next week and graduate on February 24th.
The Fire Department hopes to have another Citizen’s Academy later this year. The only requirement is that you be a Roanoke City resident. Spokeswoman Tiffany Bradbury suggests residents check the Fire Department’s Facebook page and Twitter for updates.
– Beverly Amsler
