PORT ANGELES – If in the next month or so you see smoke pouring from any of the buildings recently purchased by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe in downtown Port Angeles, chances are it’s not a fire.
The Tribe has given permission to the Port Angeles Fire Department to conduct training exercises inside the buildings that will soon be demolished to make way for their new hotel.
Assistant Fire Chief Keith Bogues told us that roughly half of his firefighters have less than 5 years’ experience, and getting the opportunity to go in and rough up an old building before it’s torn down is rare and invaluable for teaching safety skills.
“Yeah, we’re going to have the fire engine down there, were going to be setting off some smoke bombs to simulate…well, to generate an obscure atmosphere so that you can’t just see where you’re going. You have to find your way so to speak, and everything. But the the smoke is non-toxic and it just creates a difficult situation as far as being able to see where you’re going, and simulates a fire environment. And breaking through walls, you know, advancing wet hose lines, getting things wet as well. It’s all safety-related in the sense that the more hands-on, the more experience you have, the safer you’re going to be.”
The training began Tuesday in the old Harbor Art building on Railroad Avenue. When the big building that houses the Downtown Hotel and Cornerhouse Restaurant becomes available sometime in September, firefighters will be able to do the same training on a larger scale.
Banner photo: Captain Terry Reid (right) readies the crew for training.
Above: Gear sits outside Harbor Art building Tuesday morning.