EXFD Training on the Road

Back in May, EXFD took drill night on the road, traveling to the South Metro Public Safety Training Facility (SMPSTF) in Edina. This facility gives us the opportunity to increase the intensity of our training by performing a wide variety of skills in a multi-story structure!

Each of the two weeks, half of our members visited SMPSTF, while the other half trained at Station 1 and stayed available for calls. At SMPSTF, we practiced throwing ladders to 2nd and 3rd story windows. We entered and exited through those same windows. Using Ladder 11, we performed skills that are not as easily practiced in most locations. We also pulled hose lines off of the trucks, made entry into the building, advanced charged hose lines up and down stairwells, around corners and into smoke-filled rooms where the visibility was zero.

Training like this inspires us to push ourselves to our limits both physically and mentally and it helps us to grow as a team. All of our drill nights are designed to make us better firefighters, and this is just another example of how increased intensity in our training makes us successful!