Firefighters train

Exercise involves

extinguishing propane fire

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- The team waited patiently, hoses at the ready, in two neat lines.

The field was relatively quiet until the first squeal of gas was heard.

The valves opened. The fire leapt up in a great column.

Jets of water came streaming from four teams of New Ulm's volunteer firefighters to cool the liquid propane tank off. After a few minutes, they switched to a fog and advanced towards the tank slowly.

It took a couple of minutes for them to subdue the fire, but once it was out, the tank smoldered and the team regrouped to learn what it did right, to wipe sweat from their brows and take a breath of fresh air before the whole exercise happened again.

"Basically, this is a training session," said New Ulm Fire Chief David Wolf. "If we should encounter something like this, we should be well prepared."

Nearly all of New Ulm's 40 volunteer firefighters were on hand Thursday night for special training put on by South Central Technical College. The night's main exercise was learning how to extinguish a liquid propane fire. The propane was donated by Cenex Co-op in Essig. Over the course of the night, the firefighters took several turns on the hose teams. The training wrapped up late Thursday night. It was a night for firefighters new and experienced.

Capt. Paul Macho of Engine Company 1 has 16 years with the NUFD. He remembers the days when the training was put on out by 3M and the airport. In the time he's fought fires, Macho said he's only had one incident with a gas truck and no flame was involved, but that doesn't mean the exercise was a waste of time.

In fact, Macho said it was anything but. To teach newer firefighters firefighting techniques -- and to make them more comfortable -- the teams were mixes of rookies and veterans. Instructors from SCTC would give performance evaluations of each team and each team member. By the second or third try, most team members were able to execute the drill perfectly.

"This is extremely important," Macho said, standing beside a pumper truck. "Each scenario has a different technique. You learn how to work as a team."