Live Fire Training

There was live fire training tonight, but I did not think I was going to go to it because of the lack of turnouts. I got a message from VanNess about using Colfax turnouts. So I called Heston and he said it would be okay, but he wanted to look at them first. I talked to Carl and he said it would be okay to use them as well. It is eleven-thirty and I needed to be in Pullman by five to show Heston the turnouts. So I took the rest of the day off and headed out. I went to fill my gas tank only to find the gas station I normally go to was being worked on. So I headed out. I got gas outside of Ellensburg. Then I got going again. I was making good time. Near Three-ninety-Five this truck passed me and I started to follow it. He was doing about seventy-five to eighty. We got to the Whitman county border when we got behind a state patrol vehicle. We followed him the rest of the way doing the speed limit. Then as we got to the fairgrounds I got behind an eighteen wheel doing less that the speed limit. I was getting antsy. It was like something would get in front of me to slow me down the closer I got to Colfax. I stopped in at the fire station and got my turn outs than I cruised to Pullman. I showed Heston the turnouts. I got a new helmet from VanNess as well as some boots. Heston did a mask fit test with me because the instructors were worried about me doing the fire training without being tested. I was cleared to go to training.

I put my name on the back of my helmet and headed off to the fire training tower. I brought sweat pants and a sweat shirt to wear. I was told the sweat shirt would wick the sweat away from the body making it more comfortable in the fire. But I found that was not the case. I sweated so much more that the heat was getting to me. The sweat shirt was totally wet. It did not make for a good time. I was so wet it was like I was in the water at the river. My turn outs were filled full of sweat too. Pretty nasty to take them off then put it back on, that is for sure.

We did one scenario where we had to do an abandon building. We had to go head first out a window. At first I did not know people would be there to catch me and I was worried about my left arm which has been week in the elbow joint, but I had to get out and I saw the guy before me go. So I just jumped up there and I saw people there. That was nice.

Then we did a few more attacks. Followed by an attack from the top, like it was a basement fire. That was what really got me feeling weird.

When we were done I helped to clean everything up and load the hose. I looked at my knees and of course I have two large blisters that have popped and they are inch diameter redspots on my knees where skin was once at.

I went to Colfax and washed my turn outs. I talked to the guys at Colfax Fire. They were on calls from six to almost eleven o’clock tonight. They had a total of four calls, one of which had a guy flown out to Spokane.

I got my turn outs washed and set up for drying over night.