Idaho Falls Fire Department recruits finish training

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)- The Idaho Falls Fire Department is just about ready to graduate its new recruits from the fire academy.

Thursday was the last day of training for the six recruits. Wednesday and Thursday the men have been practicing in a live burn simulator.

In the simulator, the recruits were faced with real-world scenarios and conditions, said Scott Wetzel, a Captain and paramedic with the Idaho Falls Fire Department.

"Each recruit is getting upwards of 15, 20 different scenarios," Wetzel said. "We try to throw different scenarios at the that they're going to encounter when we get out in the field. Things that they don't expect, things they have to work around. Things they have to figure out on their own."

The simulator is a culmination of their training, which includes just about everything.

"We cover emergency vehicle operations, we cover basic fire behavior, hoses, and nozzles," Wetzel said. "We cover swift water rescue, high angle rescue, vehicle extrication, vehicle fires, forcible entry. And then our live-fire events. We also do victim search and rescue, and firefighter search and rescue."

Once this training is complete, they're ready to graduate. But that's when the real work begins. For the next 12 months, they'll be probationary officers Wetzel explains.

"They have tasks that they still have to complete," Wetzel said. "So they have to learn streets and addresses in the city, they'll have to touch on some of the skills they've learned during the academy, that we expect them to work on during their probationary year."

The trailer is provided by fire services technology, out of the College of Eastern Idaho. Thanks to a federal grant, it's available for departments across the state to use for training, without having to buy one themselves.