What's News?

By Second Assistant Chief Roblee

Tuesday July 29, 2025

Our friends at Arcade Fire Department invited us to train with them at an acquired structure on Stinson Road this past Saturday.  Arcade line officers lined up multiple training evolutions revolving around interior firefighters and pump operations.

Interior firefighters first utilized the structure for vertical ventilation training.  Vertical ventilation involves cutting holes in the roof of a building to allow smoke and heat to escape.  When performed in coordination with fire attack, vertical ventilation lowers the heat of a compartment while also improving visibility for firefighters on the inside.  Firefighters use a chainsaw, typically with a carbide chain, to cut through asphalt shingles and the roof deck.  A depth gauge is placed on the bar of the saw to prevent the firefighter from cutting through the rafters or trusses in the process.  A hook is used to remove the chunk of roof from the hole and poke through any ceilings found below the hole.

While this training was taking place, pump operators from multiple agencies were setting up a "pumper relay" to deliver water to the structure from a nearby pond.  A pumper relay is typically set up when water needs to be pumped a long distance.  In this case, the pond was just under 1,000 feet away from the structure.  Strykersville and Bliss pumped water down the long driveway, where an Arcade engine discharged the water around the structure.

Chaffee-Sardinia sourced water from the pond using Turbodraft Fire Eductors.  The Turbodraft uses the venturi principle, discharging water through a small diameter at high pressure to collect high volumes of water.  Sardinia Engine 2 was the dedicated pumper for two Turbodraft units, filling two port-a-tanks to be pumped down the line to the scene.  The two units produced over 1,100 gallons per minute, which easily kept up with demand from the fire scene for over two hours.  This training gave us the opportunity to test the finer details of an eductor water supply setup, including the best way to deploy the eductors, and how to manage the water levels in the port-a-tanks.

At the end of the training session, Arcade Fire Department performed a controlled burn of the structure with water supplied by the pumper relay.  Personnel sprayed water on nearby vegetation to prevent fire spread while the structure burned.  In all, it is estimated that over 130,000 gallons of water was moved during the training exercise.

We always appreciate working with our mutual aid partners for training exercises, and want to thank Arcade Fire Department for putting together this drill.  Everyone benefits when neighboring departments are familiar with each others' responders and equipment.  This has lead to an increase in collaboration between fire departments to provide consistent and rigorous training to their members.  Pooling resources also allows for more detailed and realistic training scenarios that better represent what really happens on a fireground.  Saturday's training is just one example of our first responders working together to provide the best service possible to the community.