Anderson firefighters train for emergencies

ANDERSON, S.C. (WSPA) — Anderson City firefighters are spending the week training for emergencies.

The first responders are holding “multi-company drills,” which present firefighters with challenges they may face in emergency situations.

“It’s our best chance to get the most realistic training we can,” Capt. Joseyph Burdette said.

For the next several days, firefighters will run scenarios through a house and practice how to look for people who may be trapped inside.

“Say a homeowner calls and says their house is on fire, their husband or wife is still in there and they think they’re still in a bedroom,” Burdette explained. “We read the building and look at windows, and we can tell where bedrooms are by window sizes. We’ll go in that bedroom and search specifically that area for them as opposed to going through the front door and taking more time to do a full house search.”

They will also train on how to rescue firefighters inside a house, use hoses and ventilate a roof to get smoke out of the house.

“We’ll probably do some ventilation, ladder work, get on the roof, cut some holes in the roof and do some vent work,” Burdette said.

Firefighters from nearby volunteer departments have joined Anderson’s firefighters in training this week. Those firefighters often assist the Anderson Fire Department during emergencies.

“We can learn from them, they can learn from us, and we can just build a better working relationship for the citizens that we serve,” Burdette said.

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