Training for Fire Season
Jul 22, 2022 12:00AM ● By Story and photos by Seti Long
CALFIRE Butte Unit/Gridley Fire Department held a small training exercise last week at the Heritage Oak Shopping Center. Photo by Seti Long
GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) – Last week, CALFIRE Butte County/Gridley Fire Department took the opportunity to orient one newer battalion member and one member finishing their specialized task book with some of their equipment.
During the exercise Engineer Kim Nolan and Truck Operator in training Perry Nunez got hands-on experience running water from a hydrant to Gridley’s Ladder Truck 74.
A total of five firefighters were present during the exercise, which was conducted behind the Dollar General store in the Gridley Heritage Oak Shopping Center so that the public was not alarmed by the presence of CALFIRE equipment.
At no time was there any fire, but the exercise had Nolan and Nunez accessing a hydrant, running hose from the hydrant to Engine 74, which in this case acted as a pump, funneling a steady stream of water to Ladder Truck 74.
According to CALFIRE Butte County/Gridley Fire Department Captain Mike Conaty, the exercise, specifically running water through the Engine to the Ladder Truck, was not something that the Engineers and Truck Operators had the opportunity to experience hands-on in the academy.
Since Ladder Truck 74 is a specialized piece of equipment, not only providing firefighters a safer way to access fires in close-contained areas or fires burning in multi-story buildings with its extendable ladder, it also carries an array of life-saving equipment and requires a higher level of training. This equipment includes but is not limited to spreaders and cutters, often referred to as the ‘jaws of life’ and what is called ‘cribbing’ or bundles comprised of blocks of wood that help raise and steady objects – used frequently during emergency responses to accidents. The size of Ladder Truck 74 allows it the ability to carry both more of this life-saving equipment and much larger versions of it, where an Engine is limited by space.
CALFIRE Butte Unit is constantly training and keeping their skills fresh, doing so through smaller exercises such as this and larger, sometimes week-long mandated trainings by the CALFIRE organization. This exercise wrapped up quickly and the unit returned to regular duty.
