It's not every day that firefighters are the ones starting fires, but that's just what's happening in Benton County.
Wednesday marked the third day this week of intense fire training week for Rogers firefighters. Their goal was to suit up, get inside a house intentionally set on fire, and safely locate and rescue staged "victims" inside. But according to some rookie firefighters, that's easier said than done.
They say temperatures inside a burning building can reach up to 1000 degrees, and even with 50 pounds of protective gear, some of their facemasks were starting to melt.
Firefighters lit the fire in the bedrooms. The flames rise to the attic and pressure from open windows pushes the smoke across the house to the other side. This smoke is called "charged" smoke, and it billows out into the neighborhoods so firefighters say their intentionally lit fires aren't allowed in every community.
But in Rogers, plenty of space made one donated home safe for firefighters to learn the ropes - and hoses - of rescuing victims and putting out fires. Al Jones is one of ten rookies hoping to graduate. "You can see the flames and it's pretty intense. It is very dangerous." But he adds, "It's been great."
However, 16-year-old Mallory Phillips proves you don't have to be big to put on a 50 pound suit. "It's not normal for a girl necessarily, to come into it." Phillips joined the department's cadet youth program after a fire destroyed her home in 2006. "Everyone's like, 'it's your house on fire!' and I didn't really care. I was paying attention to the trucks and everybody that was going in, and ever since then, I've read books, and I've gotten more into it." And out of disaster, Phillips is finding her life passion. "I hope to become a firefighter. I hope to get on and work at the station. I love it. You get really close with the people you work with. Very close, and it's like you all get, become one. So it's cool." Ten-year firefighter and former cadet Eric Warzecha agrees. "I fell in love with the service. Being around the guys and the camaraderie and the family, I just knew that was what I wanted to do." If you're wondering how the fire department actually got a hold of a house to burn down, it's all because the owners had a mold problem, and for them it was cheaper to let the fire department burn their house down than have it destroyed and hauled off in a different way. Click on the community outreach line of www.rogersarkansas.com/fire for more on the Rogers Fire Department's Explorer Program. It's for youth age 16-21.
Wednesday marked the third day this week of intense fire training week for Rogers firefighters. Their goal was to suit up, get inside a house intentionally set on fire, and safely locate and rescue staged "victims" inside. But according to some rookie firefighters, that's easier said than done.
They say temperatures inside a burning building can reach up to 1000 degrees, and even with 50 pounds of protective gear, some of their facemasks were starting to melt.
Firefighters lit the fire in the bedrooms. The flames rise to the attic and pressure from open windows pushes the smoke across the house to the other side. This smoke is called "charged" smoke, and it billows out into the neighborhoods so firefighters say their intentionally lit fires aren't allowed in every community.
But in Rogers, plenty of space made one donated home safe for firefighters to learn the ropes - and hoses - of rescuing victims and putting out fires. Al Jones is one of ten rookies hoping to graduate. "You can see the flames and it's pretty intense. It is very dangerous." But he adds, "It's been great."
However, 16-year-old Mallory Phillips proves you don't have to be big to put on a 50 pound suit. "It's not normal for a girl necessarily, to come into it." Phillips joined the department's cadet youth program after a fire destroyed her home in 2006. "Everyone's like, 'it's your house on fire!' and I didn't really care. I was paying attention to the trucks and everybody that was going in, and ever since then, I've read books, and I've gotten more into it." And out of disaster, Phillips is finding her life passion. "I hope to become a firefighter. I hope to get on and work at the station. I love it. You get really close with the people you work with. Very close, and it's like you all get, become one. So it's cool." Ten-year firefighter and former cadet Eric Warzecha agrees. "I fell in love with the service. Being around the guys and the camaraderie and the family, I just knew that was what I wanted to do." If you're wondering how the fire department actually got a hold of a house to burn down, it's all because the owners had a mold problem, and for them it was cheaper to let the fire department burn their house down than have it destroyed and hauled off in a different way. Click on the community outreach line of www.rogersarkansas.com/fire for more on the Rogers Fire Department's Explorer Program. It's for youth age 16-21.
