CINCINNATI — While many of us are fighting to stay cool during this heat wave, others are running into the fire — literally.
The Cincinnati Fire Department's 51 recruits are nearing the end of their training, but this week may be one of their most physically intense. It’s not just because they have to drag a 175-pound dummy out of a burning storage container. It's also due to the extreme temperatures they're doing it all in.
“It's different from you know, just going outside and running or sprinting ... you have on your coat, your pants, you know, it adds a whole different heat index to it. So, it’s just harder,” said Jiair Thomas, one of the Cincinnati Fire Department recruits.
Hear how fire recruits and firefighters work in the heat, and stay safe:
The fires Thomas and his fellow recruits are fighting can be 300 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and stepping into 90-plus-degree heat after fighting a fire doesn’t provide much of a cool-down.
“When you come out in the wintertime, it’s better. You can get a cold breeze when you open the coat up,” said Thomas. “When you come out in the heat, even when you open the coat up, you’re still hot.”
With the intense heat from the fires and the temperature, it can be difficult to stay cool. I asked Captain Alexis Munday with the Cincinnati Fire Department Training Center what they do the keep everyone as cool and safe as possible.
“We made sure that we had twice as many instructors as we had so that we could rotate people out a little more. For recruits, we had rehab set up so they had tents, misting fans, ice packs, ice rags, cold water, all the things,” Mundy said.
With the heat index reaching the high 90s and even over 100, the recruits have been ending training around noon. But when there’s a real emergency, that’s not an option.
“Maybe we call for some additional companies to come just so we have more reinforcements,” Mundy said. “We might use outside partners like Salvation Army or Metro to bring a bus for cooling or bring refreshments.”
Mundy added that the heat doesn’t make putting out a fire any more difficult normally, but it does take a lot more out of the firefighters.
On Wednesday, while fighting a fire in Milford, one Miami Township firefighter suffered from heat exhaustion. Officials said he was taken to the hospital.
“We plan for (the heat) ahead of time, but even with organizations like ours that ... plan ahead, sometimes the fire gets ahead of us to where the resources don’t show up as quickly as we like,” said Dave Jetter with Miami Township Fire and EMS.
The firefighter, Jetter said, is expected to be OK.
