Chester Firefighters Battle 'Blaze' in Flanders Drill

Chester volunteer firefighters, along with their counterparts from Flanders, Budd Lake, Roxbury, Netcong and Stanhope joined Sunday for a training exercise in Flanders Sunday to hone their skills.

About 60 firefighters practiced a variety of techniques to find and rescue victims and save their own lives in three buildings that will soon be demolished. The space will then be used to expand Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics. 

The simulation was hosted by the Flanders Fire Company No. 1 and Rescue Squad. Training exercises included wide angle searching, cutting holes in roofs to allow smoke and gasses out of the building and breaking through walls to escape from a room where there was no exit, according to a press release from the Flanders Fire Department.

One of the buildings was filled with white, non-toxic fog to simulate smoke, and firefighters searched for a “victim” on two levels. In the other buildings, firefighters searched for victims of a make-believe fire while other crews ventilated the building by cutting holes in the roof, the statement said.

“It’s unusual to find a place where we can learn and practice techniques because some of these tactics are, by definition, destructive,” said Flanders Fire Chief Frank Zeller in the statement. “In addition, this gives us an opportunity to work with our mutual aid companies in an environment where we can stop the action to discuss it and learn from each other.”

The fire companies involved are often called upon for mutual aid in the surrounding areas, and working together on a drill like this only increases their ability to work with each other seamlessly. 

Information and photos provided by Flanders Fire Department.