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Fire Ops 101 to test Burnaby politicians

The afternoon of Monday, Sept. 26 is going to be a long one.
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The afternoon of Monday, Sept. 26 is going to be a long one.

For four hours, 41 non-firefighters will be at the Vancouver Fire Rescue Training Centre in Vancouver and participating in five real-life firefighter training exercises, all as part of an event hosted by the British Columbia Professional Fire Fighters Association.

The roster of events includes a live fire experience, with participants exposed to a live fire with extreme temperatures in a simulator; an auto extrication exercise where participants will be using the Jaws of Life; a confined space patient rescue; and a simulated scenario of an emergency using defibrillator equipment.

The scheduled list of "four-hour" firefighters includes Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, New Westminster councillors Jaimie McEvoy and Lorrie Williams, New Westminster city administrator Paul Daminato, Burnaby Coun. Nick Volkow, Burnaby-Edmonds MLA Raj Chouhan and one other person with Burnaby and New Westminster roots.

Me.

Yup, your intrepid - some say foolish - local reporter was invited by Burnaby Firefighters Local 323 president Rob Lamoureux to participate in the once-in-a-lifetime workshop organized to coincide with the 2011 UBCM Convention in Vancouver.

Lamoureux ran the idea by me at the end of August and because I was on vacation for the first half of September, I had to go meet with Lamoureux on Wednesday morning to get fitted in turnout gear.

Lamoureux quickly found me an extra-large jacket, pants and a XXL T-shirt, but the fun began when I had to try on the steel-toed boots.

"Our boots come with a heel lock so it's got to be snug," said Lamoureux.

I requested a 12.5 size and the heel lock felt quite comfortable as I wedged my dogs into the shiny black boots.

But then I tried getting my feet out.

I think I almost tore a calf muscle trying to get my heels unlocked from the boot. I was able to brace my left foot against my right to get my left foot out, but for my remaining right boot, I had to wiggle out, ever so slowly, as Burnaby NOW photographer Larry Wright snapped and laughed at the same time.

As Lamoureux passed me some large blue gloves and a yellow balaclava, all I had left to get fitted for was my yellow firefighters helmet.

"It's going to feel heavy," Lamoureux warned.

I nodded, not fully believing Lamoureux because I've worn a hockey helmet once or twice in my life.

When he popped the helmet on my head, it was like a sack of rocks was on my shoulders.

"Yup, it's heavy all right," I told him.

It was so heavy that for the next couple of days, I'll wear the helmet during my normal activities just to get used to the feeling of carrying a house on my shoulders.

Lamoureux also had me strap on a Scott air pack to get used to the weight on my back.

"You want the weight closer to your lower back than your shoulders," he said as he adjusted the pack south.

Now that I looked the part, the next thing is to actually play the part.

And that's why Sept. 26 is going to be so long.

Five years ago, I participated in a celebrity firefighter challenge at Lougheed Town Centre.

Six local media types did a variety of fun firefighter activities, from rolling out a fire hose to crawling through a makeshift tunnel to running with a firehose around the mall's pillars.

No real fire, no Jaws of Life, no confined space rescue.

I'm a bit worried about how strenuous this is all going to be, especially when Lamoureux has me sign a waiver and tell me to fill in a medical form that I'll have to present on Monday before the event.

"Due to the tremendous physical exertion endured during this exercise, participants MUST be in good health to participate," is one of the warnings I read in the papers Lamoureux gives me.

I haven't done any training for this - hey, I'm wearing the helmet while typing up this story - and I'm hoping that I don't embarrass myself on Monday when I participate in the challenge.

What I do know is that by the end of Monday's events, I think my healthy respect for the work firefighters do will increase exponentially.

For more information on the work done by the Burnaby-based B.C. Professional Fire Fighters Association, call 604-436-2053 or email bcpffa@telus.net.

And stay tuned next week for my story and Wright's photos and videos from Fire Ops 101.

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