About 40 volunteer firefighters in Lancaster participated in a rare training event Thursday night.
Lancaster Fire Department was granted access to use a vacant motel on Freeman Drive for the training exercise. New recruits practiced ripping apart walls and roofs of the building.
“We are showing the firefighters the proper way to set up the ladder truck to go up onto the roof and cut holes in the roof for ventilation," said Bowmansville Fire Chief Mark Lawniczak.
The volunteers braved the cold weather to learn the proper way to attack fires from above. They used saws to cut big holes into the roof. This technique in a real structure fire releases the gas inside the building, making it easier for firefighters to get flames under control.
“It’s great hands-on training; we got this nice big hotel we can practice on and train on,” said Firefighter Nick Pokorski.
A 14-year-old volunteer explorer firefighter was part of the training Thursday night. “This is something I definitely want to do,” said Janel Koeth.
At her young age, Koeth handles some of the less intense tasks for firefighters. She’s inspired to become a black helmet firefighter when she grows up.
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