Video: Firefighter's View of Water Training Inside Brownsville House

Multiple Fire Departments Experience Real Hose Training in Abandoned House

Firefighters navigate through an abandoned house in a live fire hose training in Brownsville.

Darren Doyle, story, video, and photos:
It might seem pretty simple. You see a fire, you spray the fire with water. For firefighters, it's a bit more involved than that, and it requires proper training.

Local firefighter John Chidester, a member of the Brownsville Volunteer Fire Department and the Bowling Green Fire Department, helped coordinate a fire hose training at an abandoned house in Brownsville on Saturday, November 23rd. The house is currently owned by A Plus Family Healthcare, which donated the house for the purpose of the training.

Cameron Wallace, a Bowling Green FD firefighter, was the region coordinator, in cooperation with the Fraternal Order of Leatherheads (FOOLS), for the training said the training was specifically for hose lines, pulling them to the house, getting them inside while being charged with water, and learning technique to find fire sources and the methods by which to best put out those fires.

"Once the firefighters are inside, they're working on moving down hallways, navigating stairs, and making turns," Wallace said. "The hoses are pretty heavy and they can get in the way, they can get stuck on things pretty easy. This is a training on line management and how to navigate them in certain situations."

Wallace said this training is extremely important because they rarely get an entire structure that can be utilized for the training, which is much better for a real life situation.

In case you wondered, yes, we got soaked in the process, but it was worth it to get great photos and videos. We also appreciate the local and regional firefighters for allowing us in their space.

Wallace said multiple departments attended the training throughout the state, including one department from Tennessee.

Firefighters train with energized hoses as they enter a house in a simulation in Brownsville.

A Chalybeate firefighter works with a hose in a Brownsville training.

Local and area firefighters undergo hose training in Brownsville on November 23, 2024.

John Chidester said several local fire departments were represented at the training.

"This is crucial training," he said. "The ability that these guys have today to take training from amazing instructors with so much experience, plus the fact that this is a free class for everyone, it can't be overstated how important this is."

Chidester also thanked A Plus Family Health for the use of the property, Fire Department Service and Supply, as well as departments supplying trucks, including Brownsville, Chalybeate, and Plano. BGFD supplied various equipment for everyone.

"Anytime there is anyone locally that has a property like this that will be destroyed, please let us know because we may be able to use it for training purposes. There will be some safety requirements, but please let us know."

Chidester said the hoses blasted out 160 gallons per minute.