Volunteers have to complete about 140 hours of training before becoming firefighters on local departments. In addition to fighting car fires, students in the Firefighter I and II course practice extrication skills. This group practices cautiously removing a windshield with an ax, under the watchful eye of Advanced Minnesota Instructor Rob Spolar.
A number of community members are training to become firefighters on local volunteer fire departments, joining the hundreds of other volunteers working in the county to keep their friends and neighbors safe. For months, they have been studying, attending meetings and undergoing rigorous training to become qualified to respond to fires and other emergencies.
Participating in the current Firefighter I and II courses, administered by Advanced Minnesota are Cody Johnson, Delton Lutz, Brandon Houglum and Paulina Backstrom of the Maple Hill Fire Department; Lee Jahnke, Tyler Norman, and Craig Horak of Tofte; and Corey Belt and Rob Wells of Grand Marais.
They must attend about 40 classes to complete about 140 hours of training learning about incident command safety, fire behavior, building construction, interior search and rescue, vehicle extrication, hose techniques, vehicle fires, ventilation and more. And before becoming bonafide firefighters, the students must participate in a live structure fire exercise.
Firefighter I and II Instructor Terry Spieker of the Hovland Fire Department put these firefighter trainees through their paces in interior search and rescue training at a local garage. Firefighters’ masks were covered to simulate what it would be like to try to find a victim in dark and smoky conditions. Using an ax handle to feel their way through a maze of equipment, this crew successfully found someone needing rescue sitting in this bobcat.
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