Learning what it takes to become a Salisbury firefighter

SALISBURY, Md. – All across the country, cities and towns are in need of fire fighters. Luckily for Salisbury, they were able to hire 12 new recruits thanks to the SAFER grant, but becoming a fire fighter is no easy task.

On Monday, the Salisbury Fire Department’s newest recruits suited up and tackled a controlled burn in Princess Anne to help prepare them for real life scenarios.

Sarah Trice, a new recruit said, “We had to throw some ladders, climb up on the roof and vent it. We just got done putting the fire out, so I was on the nozzle and we had to go in, find the fire, put it out and make sure the room was clear of any possible victims.”

Heavy smoke, extreme heat, tight spaces and rapidly changing conditions were just some of the things fire fighter recruits had to face on Monday.

Chief John Tull with the Salisbury Fire Department said, “Once they’ve put the fire out on the first floor, we would then have another fire on the second floor, so now another crew has to advance another line in to the building. It goes along with teamwork and coordination of multiple units operating inside the building.”

Monday’s hands-on training helped people like Sarah Trice become better prepared to fight fires in the future.

Trice, a recruit said, “The Chief was helping me learn how to control the hose in a better manner and he had actually taught me while we were in the fire, which is so important with this training. Instantly it helped me have better control, in the case that now I can put out a fire faster with less water damage.”

This intense training session just goes to show that being a firefighter is no easy task.

Trice said, “It is a lot of your mind game, it’s a lot of strength, it’s a lot of courage to keep going. Physically it’s very difficult, so there is a lot of times that you just want to stop and it’s the perseverance to just keep going through that.”

Chief Tull said, “You’ve got to have that passion for it, you’ve got to be willing to give back to your community. Volunteering your time, it takes a lot.”

Monday’s controlled burn was the final part of fire training for these recruits. For the remainder of the week, they’re going to be EMS and patient care training before graduating on Friday. The graduation ceremony for the new Salisbury fire fighters will take place at Salisbury University and the public is invited to attend.

While we’re on the topic of fire fighter recruiting, we want to point out that Volunteer Fire Companies across the country are always in need of more members.

We’re told it’s difficult to recruit volunteers because often times people don’t have the time to train or the flexibility to wake up in the middle of the night to go and tackle a fire. If you do have the time, and you want to make a difference in your community, you’re strongly encouraged to reach out to your local fire station to apply for a volunteer position.

Chief Tull said, “We encourage everyone to try, but we also understand that it’s not for everyone, but if you can come there with passion, dedication, wanting to help, we’ll do everything we can to make sure you’re successful in our organization.”

According to the National Fire Protection Association, the time donated by volunteer firefighters saves localities across the country an estimated 47 billion dollars per year.