SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - Firefighters train for all kinds of emergencies, but the only way to be ready is to practice like it’s real. In a drill in downtown Springfield on Friday, crews ran through what to do in the case of floor collapses or emergency escapes.

It was a day of rescuing, for the rescuers of Springfield. A training session downtown that focused on different situations where firefighters would need to rescue their own. These practices of real-world positions are essential for the first responders who need to act at a moment’s notice.

“We’re using scenarios where firefighters have been hurt or killed in different parts of the country to ensure we’re prepared to deal with those types of situations if they were to happen here,” said Springfield Fire Commissioner B.J. Calvi.

The sessions consisted of 5 separate evolutions as Calvi calls them, including what to do if you fall through the floor, or if you have to repel down the side of a building in order to safely escape. The lot at 111 Lyman Street is a uniquely qualified building because it offers the firefighters hands-on experience.

“The fact that we can do all these drills in succession is just a great training opportunity for us that we wouldn’t usually be able to do in another building,” Calvi said.

This building complex behind me was meant to be destroyed, but at the request of the Fire Department, the city postponed those plans, and they have been using it as a training ground for the last week. Chief Robert Duffy told us it’s been an invaluable training location.

For those involved in the training, it’s essential that they experience what it will really be like in the field, “training definitely helps, but to be able to get our hands on an actual building and go through it like we just did is a lot more helpful than say, a training scenario where we’re not actually using the tools of it’s not an actual roll-down door,” Springfield Fire Lieutenant Daniel Allard said.

Each of the five scenarios showed that the crew was well prepared, as all five went according to plan. The fire department continues to seek out training situations like this in order to better protect not only the Springfield community, but also themselves.

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