Broken Arrow Firefighters Training To Save Other Firefighters

"It's inevitable that at some point, we're going to have members who become trapped, or injured, while inside that hazardous environment, fighting that fire," said Broken Arrow Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Lawson.

Firefighters focus most of their training on saving other people's lives, but training is underway in Broken Arrow, where crews are learning new techniques to save their own.  It's intense labor, especially in the heat and in full gear. 

News On 6 was there as firefighters tackled the obstacles, practically blindfolded, preparing for some worst-case scenarios. 

"Everytime we go to a fire, there's a bunch of unknowns," said Deputy Chief Ryan Lawson. "We don't know what's behind that front door, or where the fire is, the hazards we're going to face."
 
Broken Arrow firefighters are climbing and crawling through the obstacles, learning how to rescue one of their own. 

It's a situation that doesn't happen often, but one they have to be ready for. 

"We have floors that collapse and members that become, you know, disoriented, or cut off from their crews," said Deputy Chief Ryan Lawson. "You've got to make it back through all those same obstacles while getting the downed firefighter out behind you." 

On the fifth floor of the fire training tower, a scenario where a firefighter is dangling between two floors. They have to figure out where it's safe, so they can pull their fellow fireman out to safety. 

"Self rescue is a big part of the game. And we kind of consider firefighting as a brotherhood and we look out for one another," said Broken Arrow firefighter Stephen Coldwell.

Firefighters also train on how to perform CPR on a firefighter with all the gear on. 

All 150 firefighters in the Broken Arrow Fire Department will be trained in the next three weeks.