Monday, July 11, 2011

Fire Academy Class of 2011


Well, I finished my Fire Academy yesterday and what a hard day it was. This weekend was the last weekend and included our final written exam on Friday and our final practical exams, including a live burn on Sunday. I was really nervous for the test on Friday. I'm always so nervous for written tests, and I'm always told to stay confident in myself and just stay calm. I ended up passing the written test which I was very happy about. Then Sunday was our final practical day. It included SCBA races, raising, lowering, and storing a 30 foot extension ladder by ourselves, forcible entry, and hoisting tools by certain knots that we were taught throughout the class. Once all of the practicals were over, we took a tiny break from the already 85 degree heat and then it was time to do our live burn. It included an attack line, to control the fire inside one of the rooms, and a search line team who had to search the building to find a victim. When the search team found a victim, they would inform the attack team and they would all exit the building, having the search team go first with the victim and the attack team close behind, keeping the front of their bodies facing the fire in case of something bad happening. Once everyone was finished with the burn, we all headed back to the station to clean all the hose, equipment and tools. It was a great day despite the high temperatures but the class walked out of the station that day Firefighters. July 29th is our graduation day and July 31st is my Firefighter Agility Test. Still a lot to do but it's finally all working out.

Have a good day.