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Elgin City Council gets a firsthand look at firefighting

Elgin City Council members were among suburban officials who participated in a live fire training hosted by Elgin's firefighter union and designed to give firsthand experience of the job.

Elgin Association of Firefighters Local 439 hosted Fire Ops 101, a one-day program April 14 in which about 20 suburban officials donned firefighting gear, doused water and crawled through smoke. The program was created by the International Association of Firefighters. It is hosted periodically by unions across the state, and this was the first time it took place in Elgin.

Elgin Councilwoman Rose Martinez said the experience - which included putting on breathing apparatus and carrying heavy gear - taught her a lot. "I learned to respect the job and appreciate the work the firefighters do," she said.

That was the goal, Marquardt said.

"This day shows them the smoke, the sweat, the adrenaline rush and the physical stress and strain firefighters face on the job daily, all the while exposing them to the complex issues of the fire service, like staffing, adequate equipment, and presumptive health," he said.

Twenty-three firefighters from Elgin volunteered their time and another 20 firefighters helped out from Carpentersville, Naperville, Rock Island, Wauconda, Palatine, Downers Grove and Lisle-Woodridge, Marquardt said. Each local union invited people to participate, and paid $200 per participant to cover costs including food, rental of the Huntley training facility, transportation and shirts, he said.

The event started with a presentation and skills training at Elgin Fire Station No. 2, followed by live fire training at a facility in Huntley, Marquardt said. The participants stretched hoses and doused water, sat through a fire simulator with flames rolling over their heads, simulated cutting ventilation holes with an ax, and performed searches in the midst of smoke. They also performed emergency medical tasks like CPR, defibrillation and needle insertion.

Martinez said that most challenging for her was having to take her glasses off, put on a mask and go into a room full of smoke. "But most is that I am not physically in shape and four knee surgeries don't help either," she said, adding "they never had us do anything we physically couldn't do."

Elgin Councilman John Steffen said he was very glad he participated.

"The FireOps 101 event provided that firsthand experience which helps me understand the risks of duties of firefighters," he said.

At one point, his respirator wasn't working properly, Steffen said. He initially used anti-panic techniques that he learned scuba diving, but eventually bailed out early by climbing over others in the dark, he said. But he never felt in danger, he added.

Marquardt said the event included an "incident command system" and had a dedicated safety officer, plus each participant had an assistant from their local union "literally attached at their hip."

The feedback from participants and firefighters has been positive, Marquardt said.

"I would definitely do it again," he said. "It was a tremendous amount of work, but now we have one underneath our belt and know what to expect."

"In the end," he said, "we hope that the dignitaries can utilize this experience to help them gain an overall better understanding of the fire service, as well as using their new knowledge base when it comes to tough decisions regarding staffing, equipment, and the health and welfare of their firefighters."

Elgin Association of Firefighters Local 439 hosted Fire Ops 101, a one-day program April 14 in which about 20 civilians, many of them elected officials, from the suburbs donned firefighting gear and participated in a live fire training. Photo courtesy Elgin Association of Firefighters Local 439
Elgin Association of Firefighters Local 439 hosted Fire Ops 101, a one-day program April 14 in which about 20 civilians, many of them elected officials, from the suburbs donned firefighting gear and participated in a fire training. Photo courtesy Elgin Association of Firefighters Local 439
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