SLO County Fire Hosts Live Fire Training In Arroyo Grande
ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (KEYT) - A live fire training exercise is happening in Arroyo Grande this week.
SLO County Fire crews and office personnel are learning from the drills.
Intermittent bursts of smoke can be seen just south of Arroyo Grande High School as rounds of drills and exercises start up.
“Occasionally we will get people that come by the training, whether they're driving by or they see it, from their house and they will report a 9-1-1 to our dispatch center,” says Ryan Grebe, fire captain and public information officer for the San Luis Obispo County Fire Department. “But dispatch center is aware of the training that's going on. So we tell them about what we're doing. And then, most people are pretty happy that we're out here training.”
Live fire trainings like this are held as often as fire departments are able.
“This is an acquired structure burn,” says Grebe. “We typically have one, 2, or 3 of these a year, depending on if we can get structures and the proper permits to be able to burn them down.”
Structures used for live fire trainings are usually those that have been slated for demolition to begin with.
“Once I got inside the burning structure, I was really surprised that I could no longer see the flames,” says Andrea Montes, CAL FIRE SLO Finance Manager. “So the fire was still going, but I didn't see the flames at all, because there was so much smoke.”
Four ignitions and subsequent exercise rounds are conducted each day, providing opportunities for multiple agencies to train together under realistic conditions.
“We do run structure fires in extreme temperatures,” says Grebe. “So being close to the ocean, having a little bit, milder temperatures is nice for the training because you can push yourself a little harder and get more out of the training.”
Every burn depends on weather and air quality conditions.
“I will have more of an understanding of the type of equipment that's requested to be purchased,” says Montes. “I’ll have a better understanding of what that equipment is and why it's needed.”
The structure will burn to the ground Friday afternoon, the final day of training.
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