Firefighters Put Old Homes to Good Use Before Demolition

From the Atlantic City Press Published: Wednesday, August 27, 2008













By LYNDA COHEN Staff Writer, 609-272-7257

PLEASANTVILLE - "We can't just go to someone's house and say, 'Hey, can we break down your door?'" Fire Capt. Steve Wilkins said Tuesday. But thanks to buildings set for demolition on city-owned property, firefighters are getting training using real homes.

Click "read more" for full article



(Continued from Page 1)

Until the homes are leveled in about a week, department shifts are using them to train.

The fire department recently added 14 recruits to its ranks, including 12 funded by grants - with half of those through the Urban Enterprise Zone.

"A lot of senior firefighters are retiring, and that experience is retiring with them," Wilkins said. "Training gives the new recruits confidence, and confidence gives them speed, which is important in a real-life situation."

Mark Alexander, 24, of Pleasantville, has been a city firefighter for just six months and hasn't worked a fire yet. "But I'm going to be well-prepared when I have mine," he said after practicing forcible entry, simulated rescues and other skills at a boarded-up house on East Reading Avenue. "I think it's great. We get to practice on something real."

"It's a good opportunity to practice in a real situation, crawling around a real house rather than a training center," Chief Lee Borden said.

"We can do some things to the vacant homes that we can't out at the academy," Wilkins said. "It's invaluable because we don't have a lot of fires. That's good, but recruits don't get the experience."

Now, during their shift, all the firefighters are getting added training, and - unlike finding time to train at the Egg Harbor Township academy -they're in the city, in case a fire call comes in.

Using a blank radio line Thursday, Wilkins acted as the first on the scene, reporting a house fire.

"I've got a report of two victims on the second floor," he called.

Three firefighters used tools to break down the door, then a hose line was led in. They also ran upstairs to "rescue" two victims: first a "baby" was brought out and onto the stretcher to get oxygen; the other was an adult - represented by a firefighter's uniform filled with a fire hose.

Then, the announcement of a firefighter falling through the floor came through. It was all part of the training - learning to save one of their own.

"The plan right now is to put city government here," at the site of the homes, explained Roger Tees, the city's director of economic and industrial development, but he said the final decision is dependent on money. "This gives (the firefighters) a chance to make a mess. Then the Public Works crew gets to practice tearing down buildings."

E-mail Lynda Cohen: LCohen@pressofac.com