BOWLING GREEN, OH -- It took just a few pieces of particle board, a little kindling, and some straw for firefighters to create something they rarely start: Their own fire.
But blaze after blaze was ignited yesterday at Bowling Green State University, where more than 1,100 firefighters and other emergency responders gathered over the weekend for a fire school.
Some emergency personnel worked for hours in classrooms, focusing on topics such as EMS response and homeland security. Others gathered at sites outside to douse large propane fires or use hand-held extinguishers to put out small blazes.
"It's just interesting. You're not doing anything else, so you can sit and actually watch what's going on," said Ben Cully, 27, a Van Wert firefighter. "It's a pretty neat thing."
Instead of having to worry about life-threatening problems like people trapped inburning buildings, Mr. Cully said the training was a switch because it allowed responders to focus only on the progression of fire. In some cases, that meant predicting, waiting, and watching for a flashover - the most dangerous time of a fire.
The fire he witnessed was one of many training pro-grams that were set up for the annual Northwestern Ohio Volunteer Firemen's Association Regional Fire School. The event attracted full-time and volunteer emergency responders and firefighters from across the region.
At Mr. Cully's practice area, which was near the BGSU football stadium, a charred-out trailer - known as a mobile fire lab - was the first indication of lingering fire. So were fire trucks, the smell of smoke, and workers wearing complete fire gear while gathered in a parking lot.
As firefighters were seated together inside the closed mobile lab, smoke billowed from small openings in its sides and through a large vent in its top. Onlookers outside couldn't hear the voices inside, but frequent loud beeps from firefighters' personal warning devices were clearly audible.
Inside the lab, firefighters sat below floor level with a perfect view of the ensuing fire in front of, and eventually above, them. One person was assigned to sit with a hose to control the burn.
Wapakoneta fire Capt. Alan McClintock said the exercise is useful for pros as well as novices. "Some students have never been in an actual live fire situation, so it gives them things to look for," Captain McClintock said.
Across the BGSU campus near the Wood County airport, another controlled exercise was under way yesterday in an open field along Poe Road.
In all, it would involve hundreds of gallons of liquid propane, thousands of gallons of water, and teams of firefighters.
Each time the propane was ignited, there was a flash of fire and a thunderous noise. Firefighters slowly approached the flame as they shot water in its direction.
One of the firefighters would then reach below the flame to turn off the propane dispenser.
Instructor Gene Davis, a former chief and now volunteer with the Perry Township fire department in Allen County, said the exercise has been a focus of the annual training for decades now. "What this does is give the firefighter confidence in being able to handle a propane event, whether it be a fire or a leak," Mr. Davis said.
For Garett Kohlrieser, 25, a volunteer with the Cridersville department, yesterday's exercise was useful because he's yet to respond to an emergency call involving propane.
"I haven't had a propane call so far, just natural gas, so it's nice to learn more about it," he said.
