MCCTC, Choffin students train with live burn

By DENISE DICK

denise_dick@vindy.com

CANFIELD

Smoke billowed and flames crackled from the trailer behind Mahoning County Career and Technical Center, offering students real-life experience battling a blaze.

Students in the public safety program at MCCTC and Choffin Career and Technical Center participated Friday in a live burn. Such training is required by Ohio Emergency Medical Services and is a prerequisite for Level 1 firefighter certification.

Tom O’Hara, an Austintown firefighter and MCCTC instructor, said the exercise allows students to see in action the concepts they’ve learned all year.

The students wore the helmets, boots, gear and air tanks that are part of the job.

It’s heavy, said Maria Hames of Canfield, a senior at MCCTC.

“That air pack probably weighs about half my body weight,” she said.

The metal trailers behind the center form an “L,” and a firefighter lights a pile of hay, cardboard and wooden pallets at one end. Students run hoses to the trailers from the Austintown, MCCTC and Youngstown Air Reserve Station trucks.

Capt. Jim Sapp, a Youngstown firefighter and Choffin instructor, said the trailers simulate a house. A wooden box sits in front of a trailer’s front opening, necessitating the students maneuver around it like a couch in a house.

“This is fun stuff,” Sapp urged the students as the training began.

The metal trailers also illustrate some elements of a commercial fire.

“Wood just burns, but metal warps,” Sapp said. “That’s a very dangerous situation for firefighters because the roof can collapse.”

He cautioned the students about touching the trailer and burning their hands.

Maria appreciated the opportunity to use her knowledge.

“Being in a dark, smoky room is a lot different than hearing someone tell you about a dark, smoky room,” she said.

After the training, Maria, who planned a career in criminal justice or psychology, is considering firefighting.

Students pulled hoses through the trailer, crawling on their knees to evade the worst of the smoke.

Christopher Stevens and Makala Shultz, both seniors at Choffin, learned a lot from the exercise.

“It’s hot,” Makala said of conditions inside the trailer. “It didn’t start to get really hot, though, until we put the water on it. Then it was like going from hot to about 110-degree heat.”