Shropshire firefighters carried out an exercise last night to practice their firefighting skills attending a rural farmhouse "fire".
Firefighters from Craven Arms Fire Station were called out to the scene at an empty cottage at Corfton Farm in Corvedale Road which had been pumped full of white cosmetic smoke to recreate as near as possible the conditions of a house fire.
Farmer Stephen Povall, a South Shropshire parish councillor who owns the cottage, donated the building for the day which is under renovation.
Officers arrived at the scene and assessed the situation as they would in a normal fire and were briefed on site by firefighters. Watch Manager Jason Norgrove said: "They assess the risks and hazards such as the possibility of a backdraft or flash over then formulate a plan on how they are going to extinguish the fire."
Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus had to find a number of "dummy" bodies inside the building filled with thick smoke while their rescue was observed by fire officers using thermal imaging cameras.
Such practices are important for firefighters to practice their skills.
"This training is vital as it gives firefighters experience of what they will face in a live incident. We are very grateful to the cottage owners for helping us out,” said Mr Norgrove.The fire station is always recruiting for “on call” firefighters who train every Wednesday. Anyone interested should contact Jason Norgrove on 07816 293316.
