13 recruits get training by fire in Costa Mesa program

The new recruits sat along the edges inside a shipping container, watching flames build around and above them as the temperature in the container soared to 1,000 degrees.

An enclosed space, combustible material and a raging blaze. It’s a situation that quickly can turn deadly for firefighters.

This week, 13 Costa Mesa firefighter recruits experienced a flashover — the near-simultaneous ignition of combustible materials in an enclosed space. In many cases during a flashover, it takes only seconds for an entire room to be engulfed in flames.

When firefighters are caught in a flashover, their chances of survival are slim. However, they can project when a flashover may begin and take steps to prevent it, like using water from a hose to cool the atmosphere, said Capt. Chris Coates of the Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue Department.

The exercise Wednesday was one of several the recruits will experience as part of the department’s first seven-week training program for new hires. The program, which began March 20, is a follow-up to the fire academy training they had already completed.

Newly hired firefighters go through a live burn training exercise Wednesday in a flashover container during a six-week fire academy run by the Costa Mesa Fire Department.

(Scott Smeltzer / Daily Pilot)

Over the seven weeks of Costa Mesa’s program, the new firefighters will learn about safety equipment, hydrants, ladder throws and vehicle extradition and receive training in live fire situations.

“Very few people come into this with any actual fire experience,” Coates said. “Our goal is to train them so that when they hit the floor, their first fire isn’t for someone in the community.”

Before the training program was started, firefighters in Costa Mesa would learn on their feet by shadowing veteran firefighters in the field.

But department leaders decided that a set training period would better prepare new hires and give them a chance to learn Costa Mesa’s operation, Coates said.

“Back when I was hired, you got out of the fire academy and it was go time,” Coates said. “We’ve recognized over the years that we need to get better at this.”

On Wednesday afternoon, about half the recruits donned about 50 pounds of gear with their protective suits and filed into the smoking flashover container.

The men crouched inside as burning wood produced caramel-colored smoke that billowed to the top and out the container’s door. Just above their heads, flames licked the ceiling.

Inside, a veteran firefighter showed them how to control the spread of the fire to prevent a flashover by shooting quick bursts of water out of a hose.

“It reawakens the pride and motivation in me and reminds me why I got into this,” Coates said of the training program.

The recruits emerged after about 20 minutes inside. Beads of sweat dripped down their faces as they removed their helmets and other gear.

Angel Ordaz, 24, of Huntington Beach said that despite the intense heat, seeing a fire for the first time was exciting.

Ordaz realized he wanted to be a firefighter four years ago after he met a group of them in the Vons supermarket in Huntington Beach where he was working.

He enrolled in a fire academy, and when he saw that Costa Mesa was hiring, he jumped at the chance to work close to home.

“I always wanted a job that was different every day, one that would keep me on my toes,” Ordaz said. “This is the one thing I found that I’m really passionate about.”

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN