(Dec. 10. 2020) Lugging the gear while feeling the heat left an indelible impression on a group of state and local officials during the Fire Ops 101 orientation held Friday at the Worcester County Fire Training Center in Newark.

The Worcester County International Association of Fire Fighters’ Fire Ops 101 is an all-day civilian crash course in first responder ground operations that provides a glimpse of the daily perils firefighters and paramedics encounter.

The Ocean City Fire Department and Volunteer Fire Company conducted the multi-part hands-on demonstration of live fire scenarios and EMS rescues in conjunction with IAFF Local 4269. The IAFF previously sponsored the event in 2015.

Among the loudest segments of the generally noisy affair was a bomb squad presentation by Ocean City Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal Josh Bunting and Battalion Chief Joe Sexauer.

Bunting, who helped establish the bomb squad in 2001, said the unit responds for suspicious package or hazardous materials calls throughout Worcester County.

The duo has both completed extensive FBI hazardous device training and provided a behind-the-scenes view of related equipment, including a roughly 90-pound bomb suit, X-ray gear and a remote-operated robot.

“The vast majority of our funding comes from tax dollars and homeland security dollars,” Bunting said.

Sexauer said the array of specialized devices helps minimize potential life or death situations.

“Most of our primary response deals with suspicious packages,” he said. “We try to stay as far away from a bomb as possible.”

Following a ground-level CPR review that included performing defibrillation on an animatronic cardiac arrest victim, Ocean City Assistant Fire Chief Eric Peterson prepared participants to enter a simulated interior structure blaze to feel the intense heat inside a flashover room.

“When we open the front door we give it oxygen and it grows exponentially,” he said. “We’ve got 90-180 seconds to get in the door, find the seat of the fire and put it out before it hits flashover.”

Despite being suited up in fire protective clothing and self-contained breathing apparatus, the potential for danger is amplified when temperatures shoot upwards of 2,000-degrees.

“When you get that perfect combination of temperature, fuel and oxygen, everything ignites,” he said. “When that happens, you can’t get away from it because it happens almost instantaneously.”

Ocean City Fire Training Officer Lt. Mike Wood reviewed truck company operations.

“Fire trucks have ladders and fire engines have hose lines on back,” he said.

While engine responders are tasked with connecting hoses to hydrants, fire trucks deliver equipment to gain entry to structures.

“The sole responsibility initially of the fire truck is to save peoples’ lives,” he said.

Wood said the first duty of emergency responders is to gain fast entry into buildings to remove victims.

“Fires double in size every minute,” he said.

Wood said Ocean City fire engines typically reach the scene within three minutes, while fire trucks generally arrive about 10 minutes after 911 calls are received.

“Each seat on the rig has individual responsibilities,” he said. “The driver of the fire truck is responsible for getting that big ladder that rides on top … to the roof.”

After accessing rooflines, the truck driver immediately sets about cutting a hole to create an escape valve for trapped smoke and heat.

“Putting a hole in the roof creates a chimney of sorts,” he said.

The procedure helps improve interior conditions for both victims and firefighters.

“The officer riding … in front of the fire truck [has] to … make sure all doors are open so the engine company can bring hose in and start to extinguish the fire,” he said.

Wood said two firefighters seated in back of the truck are charged with tossing out ground ladders to gain access by breaking in windows so victims can be removed.

“When it’s done together, it works beautifully and we’re saving people’s lives,” he said.

Among the local elected officials participating in Fire Ops 101 were OPA General Manager John Viola, President Larry Perrone and Vice President Dr. Colette Horn.

Perrone said the presentations were detailed and the entire day was a tiring, albeit eye-opening, experience.

“It was an exhausting experience,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve had as hard of a workout since [U.S. Army] Airborne School.”

Perrone said the training course provided an appreciation for the challenges that emergency responders face.

“They have to be prepared with all this different equipment depending on what they run into,” he said. “It really crystalizes the fact that the equipment is expensive and has a useful life date on it.”

Viola, who professed that reliable fire and EMS service was a crucial selling point when purchasing property in Ocean Pines a decade ago, came away from the experience even further impressed.

“After Friday, to see the expertise and dedication of the EMS and fire departments, I have an even deeper appreciation,” he said. “It just re-enforced it working with them and seeing it up close.”

Horn said the course was informative and gave participants a chance to suit up and walk in the boots of fire fighters and EMS professionals for a few hours.

“We got a real taste of how physically and mentally taxing the work is,” she said. “We learned how and why the tools of their mission are so vital to their success and … are also so expensive.”