What it Takes: Bargersville Fire Department gives inside look into live training

BARGERSVILLE — Firefighters have a tough job that requires them to go into burning buildings to rescue those in need and extinguish the flames.

The Bargersville Fire Department gave WRTV the opportunity to see what it takes to battle a residence fire.

“We do have training facilities that we do live fire trainings in,” said Bargersville Deputy Fire Chief Mike Pruitt.

But recently, the department took advantage of a home that was set to be demolished. It gave them a real-life training experience.

“There’s nothing more real than coming into a vacant residence like this and recreating live fire activity,” Pruitt said.

While crews can use the vacant house for live fire training, Pruitt said the empty home falls a bit short.

“... There are so many materials inside of a house that increase the rate of heat and fire, and that fuel is pretty crazy,” Pruitt said.

Because it’s a controlled environment with lots of safety precautions in place, the department let WRTV's Kelsey Anderson suit up so she could see what the conditions are like in a real house fire.

She was there as they lit the first fire. Things got dark — and quick.

The house filled quickly with smoke, making it nearly impossible to see. Also having the air pack breath was different and something to get used to.

While she was there, she learned the air pack has another safety feature.

If a firefighter is still for too long, the air pack will begin to beep. If the firefighter doesn’t move, the air pack alarm goes off, alerting everyone a firefighter is down.

The reason the fire in a training still doesn’t cut it as the real thing is that they have to remove nearly all the synthetic material like furniture, the carpet and even the shingles from the roof.