Le Mars firefighters head into the danger zone

(Photo contributed) During a recent drill, Le Mars firefighters practice dealing with the dangers of smoke -- pulling a firefighter who went down out of the building and giving first aid. The fire squad trains at least 24 times a year to prepare for blazes, but they still ask people to help prevent fires and use smoke detectors. [Click to enlarge]

Oct. 4-10

"Stay Smart! Don't Get Burned"

(Photo contributed) Drilling in a Le Mars house filled with smoke, Le Mars firefighters practice escaping through an upstairs window to the aerial truck when the exits to the lower floor are on fire. Firefighters are constantly in training to know how to respond to fires and save lives. [Click to enlarge]

In a house fire, the temperature can reach more than 1,000 degrees.

Inside, smoke can turn a lit house pitch black in four minutes.

Odorless toxic fumes can swirl through the rooms, making anyone inside sleepy, weak and confused.

And the Le Mars firefighters' job can take them right in the middle of it all.

The phrase "practice makes perfect" might seem odd when applied to fighting fires, but Le Mars Fire Chief Wayne Schipper, who's been with the department 40 years, said practice is of utmost necessity.

"The more you train for different situations, the better you'll perform when you do have the 'main event,' as we call it," Schipper said. "There are a lot of things we try to teach firefighters for survival."

Recently the firefighters headed into the thick of it in a smoky drill.

The setting was an empty Le Mars house.

"We lit fires in the house in big barrels, and we put in straw and moisture so it develops more smoke," Schipper said. "In the room, heat builds just like the room is on fire."

Inside, the house was extremely dark, Schipper said.

"North, south, east and west become the same in a building full of smoke," he said.

Firefighters started by landmarking the building -- finding features outside the house that will help them understand the layout and exits when they're inside.

"We also teach people to landmark inside with pieces of furniture, windows," Schipper said.

Firefighters entered the house in teams of two, wearing air packs for oxygen. In case one firefighter goes down, another is there to pull him or her out. They also took with them a hose line, so they could track their way out of the house.

During the drill, the team practiced what they'd do if a firefighter went down.

"He's tended to first by firefighters until the emergency services people get there," Schipper said. "And there's always a team of two outside ready to go. They are as vital as the people inside."

On the outside, one firefighter is designated the safety officer and is constantly watching for situations that would threaten firefighters inside the house.

"There could be structural collapse, a position of a vehicle could be trouble," Schipper said. "He makes sure the ladders are properly on and that the people in the structure are in their full gear -- if they don't have all of it, they have to move away from the hot zone."

If something goes south, he sounds the mayday alarm -- 30 seconds on the airhorn -- and radios to the people inside that they need to find the nearest exit now.

Whether it's a practice drill like this or a live fire, it's all training, Schipper said.

"In the 'main event,' there are so many unknowns," Schipper said. "The environment changes in different types of fire situations."

The Le Mars Fire Department has had a few injuries through the years, but no deaths, Schipper said.

Part of that is everyone on the fire squad works together.

"There are differences, sure. But there's also camaraderie. I tell them to keep firefighting separate from the rest of life," Schipper said. "You're a small group of people relied on by a large group. This family better stick together."

Not working together could mean severe injuries or even loss of life.

"That's a pretty big deal," he said.

Schipper thanked Le Mars residents for their help as well.

"We try to really push that fire prevention aspect because that really helps," he said. "The people of Le Mars work with us and watch things, too."

One of people's best tools to help, he said, is a smoke detector.

"Fires are spreading a little more rapidly than they used to and there are more toxic gases being emitted," Schipper said.

The reason: the materials used for home and furniture construction may be more flammable or contain plastics that give off gases as they burn.

"Petroleum-based material just goes up in flames and also gives off gases," Schipper said.

According to the Red Cross, smoke alarms increase the chances of surviving a house fire by 2 to 3 times.

Schipper's smoke detector recommendation is the new dual-sensor type device.

They use photo cell detection, which is helpful in catching slow, smoldering fires, and ionization detection, useful in catching quick blazes, like grease fires.

"They've proven to sound the alarm sooner," Schipper said.

Some people think they would wake up if a fire started in their house by smelling the fumes, but Schipper said that is not so.

"The poisonous gases and smoke produced by a fire can put you in a deeper sleep," he said. "Victims may be overcome while they sleep and suffocate from lack of oxygen or breathing poisonous gases, or they may suffer internal burns from breathing superheated air."

He reminded people to check their alarms every year.

"More smoke alarms mean more safety," Schipper said.