Academy 2014 class photo
photo by Bruce Garner
After three days of intense live fire training at a donated house on Fagan Street, the 25 recruits in Chattanooga’s Fire Academy 2014 got to watch how just fast a house can burn to the ground if they don’t use the fire suppression tactics they’ve been taught in recent months. After the training instructors started the fire at 10 a.m., most of the single-story, wood-frame structure had burned to the ground within 20 minutes. It was loaded with pallets, straw and shredded paper to help it along.
As is custom, the recruits gathered quickly in front of the house to pose for their class photo. It had to be done very quickly because the heat from the fire was extremely intense.
With fire suppression training completed, the recruits will now move on to instruction in hazardous materials and vehicle extrication. If they make it through all that, they will graduate on Thursday, Sept. 4.
For video by Captain Teri Rose, click here and here.