COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The College Station Fire Department finished up its third day of training Wednesday at the old city hall building.
"This old building has been serving the community for a long time," College Station Fire Department Fire Chief, Richard Mann. "This is the last opportunity it has to serve the community by training our firefighters."
Using simulated smoke, and loud alarms to make the situations as realistic as possible. The CSFD today specifically practiced mayday rescues.
While the department trains in a lot of ways, getting this first-hand experience makes a difference, according to battalion chief of training, James McNelly.
"We have Teex, we go out to the fire field quite a bit, and we can train at the station but a commercial building like that," McNeely said. "A building that's still with the furniture, still with the layout, we don't get that training."
Over the past three days, the department has done training and simulations on a variety of different things they would see in the field.
From breaking down doors and walls while doing a search and rescue, or searching in teams for the source of a fire in a building.
"So it takes a lot of practice and coordination, and a lot of communication," College Station Fire Department Captain, Stuart Marrs said. "We're practicing those things downstairs, we smoke it up and create some noise by pulling the alarm and they got to be able to communicate, and move as a crew, stay together as a crew, reach their objective, and then come back out."
