Blaze May Be Staged, but It’s a True Trial by Fire

It was only a training exercise, staged in a special five-story structure on their own parking lot. But the Anaheim firefighters who battled the heat, smoke and darkness were no less worried about this blaze.

“It may be a so-called fake fire, but this time, they’re being evaluated,” said Battalion Chief Bob Hirst, eyeing firefighters as they extended a ladder to the second floor. “We’re watching them and critiquing them on everything, and they know we’re going to point out the tiniest little error.”

About 20 firefighters participated in the exercise for several hours Wednesday at the department’s Orangewood Boulevard training center, where they doused water on a concrete tower used to simulate a commercial or apartment building.

The training tower is set on fire twice a year, although firefighters from neighboring departments take turns using it for other exercises every month. This week’s blaze was set on the third floor of the building, forcing firefighters outside to cut holes in the roof for ventilation and others to drag hoses into the darkness to search for potential “victims.”

“They’re doing everything by the book,” said Battalion Chief Kent Mastain, listening to the fire crews on the radio. The blaze sent thick, black smoke pouring from the building and brought temperatures inside to more than 1,500 degrees, but fire crews had it extinguished in less than six minutes--a “score,” Mastain said, that was “right on.”

Within minutes, the firefighters set the building ablaze again.

“It’s definitely been abused,” department spokeswoman Tabby Cato said of the badly charred 5,000-square-foot structure. “But to be good at fighting fires you have to fight fires. We’d much rather learn this way than by real-life lessons.”

The Anaheim Fire Department will continue training today with a swift-water rescue exercise near Lakeview Avenue and the Riverside Freeway.