WITH VIDEO: 'Soaring' to the top: Mount Pleasant's part-time firefighters train twice a month
Firefighter Michael Smith showed some humor as temperatures dropped during training on the roof of the former Soaring Eagle Inn and Conference Center.
“Welcome to my patio,” he joked as other firefighters were lifted to the roof Thursday night.
Smith, along with other members of the Mount Pleasant Fire Department, participates in training twice a month to keep his firefighting skills sharp.
The Thursday training session, which focused on fire suppression, involved coiling hoses to transport them to places that do not have access to water.
The firefighters practiced how to wind a hose, connect it and carry it on their backs up stairs in case fire broke out on the second or third floor of a building.
“The training sessions vary in topics, depending on whatever topic we have for that particular month,” said Sgt. Rick Beltinck, who oversees training.
Together, with a hose and an oxygen tank, the weight on the firefighters’ back could be about 75 to 80 pounds.
Jerry Wieferich, a firefighter for the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, was on site to oversee training.
He said other departments have come to the former Soaring Eagle Inn and Conference Center, including Shepherd and the tribe.
“Everybody’s been coming and playing here,” he said.
Part of the job
Wieferich also helped train.
While teaching how to properly fold a hose, he explained why it is so important for a person to carry a hose on his or her back.
“If you can get it to hang over your backpack and go up, you got your hands free,” Wiferich said.
Beltinck said the most interesting training that is done is with the technical team, such as trench rescue, confined space and high-angle rescue.
“It’s stuff that’s basically high-risk, low-frequency-type activities,” he said.
Fire Chief Greg Walterhouse said the Mount Pleasant Fire Department shares its ladder truck with surrounding communities because it is the only one in the county.
He said the department sees between 40 and 50 structure fires each year.
“We run about 800 calls a year,” he said.
Beltinck said although the department does require training twice a month, the firefighters have no remorse about participating.
“I think that’s a part of the job and they realize that, in order to stay efficient at the skills that they need to be able to perform their job out in the community, that they have to periodically train on those skills,” he said. “I think they all look at it with a positive attitude.”
