Newest firefighters gain vital hands-on training at practice

    A vacant home that’s been that way for awhile went down in flames Saturday.
    In the midst of a series of fires the week prior, Saturday’s house fire was only a practice burn, allowing newer members of the Imperial Volunteer Fire Department to get some real, hands-on training.
    The home at 1045 Wellington  Street was donated for the practice burn by owner Teresa Newman, according to 2nd Asst. Chief Kelsey Weiss.
    While the house was too small to work on much interior firefighting, Weiss said it provided three of the department’s newest members some valuable exterior training.        “For the most part, all of the training was outside,” Weiss said.
    “We worked on smoke-reading and they learned different spray patterns,” he said.
    Each of the new members had a lot of time managing the water hoses on various sides of the house. IVFD officers and other members provided input and guidance as the fire blazed.
    The three newer IVFD members who were the training’s focus included Marissa Smith, Kevin Chavira and Dustin Harris.
    Twelve firefighters in all were on the scene along with the department’s city truck, a quick attack unit, a rural pumper and the command car, Weiss said.
    Imperial EMS was also at the scene on standby.