Nick Volkow left me behind in a burning building.

And I'm not bitter, because I actually admire Nick for even being in the tower fire.

You'll read more later about how Nick and I ended up fighting a second-floor blaze because we were just two of the 40-plus participants in Fire Ops 101, put on by the B.C. Professional Fire Fighters' Association on Sept. 26 at the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services Training Centre in Vancouver.

While most media types followed Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson as he did the exact same things we were doing, my quiet Group E squad, consisting of Vancouver-Hastings MLA Shane Simpson; West Vancouver chief administrative officer Grant McRadu; Salmon Arm Coun. Debbie Cannon; Volkow, a Burnaby councillor; and our most valuable wrangler, Burnaby firefighter Kris Anderson, was having a great time learning about the value of training and teamwork.

"First rule is we all stay together," Anderson tells us in our first briefing. "We go everywhere together."

I gently prod Debbie and tell her I hope she doesn't have to go to the bathroom, and she can't help but laugh and think the same thing about any of us needing to relieve ourselves.

As 40 of us listen intently to association president Mike Hurley tell us about what we'll be learning and experiencing, there's a certain bit of anxiety and fear.

"You'll be taking part in an auto extrication, fighting a live fire in a burn tower, fighting a vehicle fire and crawling through a confined space and then using a two-and-a-half inch (fire) line to spray a rail car," said Hurley. "We want you to get an idea of what we do on a day-today basis."

We only have about 10 minutes to get dressed, so modesty goes out the door as men and women alike toss off clothes and start getting into their outfit for the day.

We're all wearing full firefighters' turnout gear, custom-fitted days earlier by the respective departments we're representing.

That means steel-toed boots, firefighter pants and overalls, balaclavas, gloves and a fire helmet.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the invaluable role Kris would play for Group E all day long. As the wrangler of our group, Kris is our team leader, our instructor, our biggest fan and, as we would soon learn, a good friend.

Six strong, we head out the door into the pouring rain for our first task: auto extrication.

As Kris and his assistants show us what we'll be doing, we start pairing up for our various tasks.

Grant and I will be using a hydraulic spreader - also known as the Jaws of Life - to take out a car door, while Shane and Debbie are using a centre punch to break window glass. Kris is showing Nick how to punch out a lock, but Grant and I have a lot of work to do.

We're instructed to use the spreader to expose the hinges of the door, and Grant nimbly pulls apart an edge to expose the hinges. We take turns with the spreader - a junior version, we're told, that weighs only 30 pounds (bigger ones are double the size and weight).

Within minutes, our door is out, and we switch jobs with Debbie and Shane.

"Start pulling the insulation out of the windows," Kris tells me as he hands me a specialized tool. The reason for getting the insulation out is plastics and other foreign substances can become very hazardous in a fire.

Debbie is holding her own, and when she has some difficulty with the final cut to extricate her door, Nick jumps in to brace the door so it doesn't bounce back into Debbie. I'm given a pair of scissors to cut the final wires holding the car to the frame, and all seems to be going well until the scissors fall apart in my hand.

"Try these wire cutters instead," Kris tells me, assuring me that busted tools happen all the time.

"Look at that fire hose that just exploded," Kris tells us as he points over to a group that's fighting the tower fire. "That's why we have multiple lines. . Stuff never happens like you expect it to, so you have to adjust all the time." We're doing a good job on the car when the air horn goes off, meaning we're shuffling off to our next task.

(Our next task is the tower fire, but we'll save that for last. We'll jump to our third task, crawling through a confined space and spraying a rail car.)

"Pull your balaclavas over your face so you can't see and crawl through this house," Kris tells us nonchalantly.

Debbie leads us off, and her slight frame is to her advantage, as she nimbly gets through the building with nary a scratch. I have to wait my turn because Kris is tying a rope around my waist. I'm told that in a real situation, the rope allows you to backtrack if you encounter real danger, and we're lucky that we don't have to take our air packs through.

"I've been in situations where the opening is so narrow that we have to take our air packs off and carry them through instead of wearing them through," said Kris. "And we're doing it blind."

When we get to the fire line and have to put water on the rail car, we are introduced to one of the most ingenious devices ever.

"Everybody take your bucking strap and attach it to the line," Kris tells us.

The bucking strap would turn out to be one of my favourite gadgets, especially after I picked up the hose.

"This thing weighs a ton," I tell Shane, who's at the front of my hose.

Kris tells us that I'll be in a two-person team, with Shane throwing water onto the rail fire and me supporting him by bracing his feet and carrying the hose.

As Shane's right foot braces against my left, we attach the bucking strap to the hose, and suddenly, much of the weight transfers from our arms to our waist area, where our belts and bucking strap are.

Debbie, Nick and Grant are on another line, and what strikes me at this moment is how effortlessly we're all working together.

I'd known Nick for many years because of his Burnaby council responsibilities, but I'd never met the other members of my team prior to that day. Grant is a quiet listener, but he is always eager to volunteer. Debbie jumps into every task, and Shane is as happy to lead a task as he is to support a fellow teammate. Nick, as most people in Burnaby know, is loud, but he's able to back up his bluster - for the most part - as a good team member.

Putting out the vehicle fire is quite similar to putting water on the rail car.

I'm at the head of one line, with Debbie supporting me.

"Always be fighting the fire at an offset," Kris tells us. "Don't be directly in front of the fire."

Kris also shows me how to control the speed and spray of the water we're putting on the fire. He tells me to have a more concentrated spray when we're further out, and as we approach the fire - from a 45-degree offset - I can widen the spray.

So now to what turned out to be everybody's favourite firefighting moment: fighting a live fire in a burn tower.

Nick and I are in the secondary line, meaning Shane, Debbie and Grant will be heading into the fire first.

They'll be carrying the hose in, up two flights of stairs and putting out a corner fire, all while wearing air packs and masks.

As if that isn't enough, the three then have to pull out a 150-pound mannequin to safety while blinded by the thick grey smoke in the building.

Sounds easy enough, especially for Nick and I, who wait patiently outside for our teammates to succeed.

Kris will be the third for Nick and me when we go into the burning building, but that all seems in doubt when Nick approaches Kris.

"I don't think I can do this," said Nick. "I'm getting claustrophobic once they put the mask on."

Kris tells Nick that he doesn't have to do it if he doesn't want to, but Vancouver firefighter and trainer Winton Crump starts to take off Nick's mask.

Kris has turned his attention to me, saying we can still do this.

"Part of being a team is picking up the slack," Kris tells me. "That's what good teammates do."

Winton is having a good long talk with Nick, and before we know it, Nick's got his mask back on, and he's ready to join Kris and I.

As Grant, Debbie and Shane emerge from the tower, they're all gasping for air. The fire has taken a lot out of them, but they still have the energy to cheer Kris, Nick and me on.

Up the stairs we go, with our hose slowing us down. Turning the corner of the staircase isn't easy, and the weight seems even heavier the higher we go.

"Keep going, we're almost there," Kris yells out.

By the time I see the fire, I'm gasping for breath. The air tank doesn't seem to be giving me all the oxygen I need and want, but no matter, I'm sitting in a puddle of water and turning the hose on.

The flames are soon replaced by smoke and Kris' next command: "Grab that leg and start dragging that body."

I can't even see what Kris is commanding me to do, but reaching in the dark, through water and the studs of a wall, I get a hold of the dummy's legs and start pulling.

I can't say I'm moving the 150 pounds far, but Kris's reassuring words are spurring me on.

"Time to get out," Kris tells me, and down the stairs I go, making sure not to trip on the hose.

By the time I hit daylight again, I can barely breathe, but I know I'm safe because the rain is still pelting down on me. I'm wet everywhere, but never has rain felt so refreshing as when my mask is taken off.

It's only then that I see Nick having a nice conversation with Winton and Kris.

"What the heck?" I ask Nick. (The exact words may have been a bit stronger!)

"I got up a couple of steps, and I had to turn around," said Nick. "I got claustrophobic again."

Burnaby NOW photographer Larry Wright has the entire sequence on camera, and it seems we entered the building at 2: 27: 02 and Nick is captured leaving the building at 2: 28: 54, meaning Nick Volkow had my back for exactly 1: 52 of the approximate 10 minutes I was fighting a fire.

"Don't be too hard on him," Kris tells me. "Part of the job is knowing your limits and knowing when you shouldn't be doing something."

And it's at that moment that I forgive Nick because I realize that he overcame a fear - if only for 1: 52 - and he tried his best. The absolute worst case scenario would have been if Nick had stayed in the building, been overcome by that fear, and now Kris and I would be dragging him out too.

At the end of our Fire Ops 101 experience, the six of us all bump knuckles and on the count of three, we all yell out "Team." It was that type of day, an unforgettable one where we all learned what it was like to be brothers and sisters while fighting fires.

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