If you drove by the busy Danville intersection of Jackson and Voorhees today, chances are you saw what appeared to be smoke coming from a two-story home. It was only a drill. Danville Firefighters are using the vacant home this week for training.
Fire Marshal Chris McMahon explains what they are doing…
{‘’They’re going to be practicing force-able entry, going through the front door, searching for a victim. The house is completely full of smoke with the smoke machine. They’ve got to advance a hose line – put the fire out that’s in the back room – and advance back out and get the victim out of there,’’ said McMahon.}
McMahon says some new hires are among those participating….
{‘’The new hires will be here all three days. They haven’t started shift yet. They’re still on 40 hour weeks, so they’ll be here all three days. But this is great practice. We just hired some a year-and-a-half ago or two years ago – whenever it was. It’s still good training and even the guys who have been on here 20 or 30 years still need practice. And we still practice at least several times a year,’’ added McMahon.}
Three new probationary firefighters recently joined the department.
(Firefighters Eric High and Devin Heinrichs look over a ‘victim’ they just rescued from inside the home.)
The training is scheduled from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. each day through Thursday (June 11, 2020), so motorists are asked to use caution in that area….
{‘’We are on Jackson Street, at the corner of Jackson and Voorhees. We do have the northbound lane completely closed for our safety and the safety of the public. You can travel southbound on Jackson, however we encourage you to find an alternate route.’’}
The house being used for the training is on the City of Danville’s demolition list. It is located on the southeast corner of Jackson and Voorhees Streets.
