Antonia Fire Protection District

It began with a simple question: I asked my neighbor if he knew when burning would once again be allowed in the fall. His response? He told me about the Citizens Fire Academy being offered by the Antonia Fire Protection District. I immediately signed myself up, and also my husband (and then mentioned it to him after the fact). We marked our calendar with the dates of each class.

Each class had a different subject regarding what it takes to become a firefighter. One of the biggest surprises was the weight of the necessary gear! After several hours I did wonder how firefighters survive a summer day in our sweltering temperatures-not to mention the additional heat from a fire.

In my own kitchen cabinet there lives a bright red fire extinguisher-and all public buildings have them, too. But when asked if I knew how to operate it, I must confess I had never even thought about it.

I learned that there are different kinds of extinguishers for different types of fires. Did you know that extinguishers have expiration dates? I thought mine was good forever unless I used it (oops). We learned the sweeping technique used to put out a fire quickly.

One member of our class was a young man aspiring to become a firefighter. I think our day spent at the Fire Training Center was a dream come true for him. The Fire Training Center includes a ‘burn tower’ to practice fighting fires inside of buildings; a large concrete pad that ignites donated junk-yard cars with the flick of a switch, for experience with car fires; and another pad, also with cars, to practice the “jaws of life” techniques to free trapped passengers.

We took what we learned to the Fire Training Center and battled our own ‘fires’ in a special burn tray. I’m sure my attempt was hysterically funny, but I successfully put an end to my fire and have the pictures to prove it (although my firefighters’ gear makes identification difficult, my husband will swear the person in the picture really is me!).

We also had a class in CPR, and I discovered that techniques have changed dramatically since I last faced a ‘dummy in distress.’

It was amazing to realize how much we really don’t know about the efforts of our local firefighters. After hearing about our adventure, several friends and family members have decided to sign up for the next series of classes.