Calfire search and rescue clear smoke to brave fires

Calls for an injured firefighter is the last thing another firefighter wants to hear.

“Everything is based off of risk versus gain for us. Obviously, life is our first priority,” firefighter-paramedic Ryan Dutton said.

Luckily, firefighters get to see another day because this situation was only a drill.

“What we want is these firefighters is to practice this over, over and over — have the opportunity to do this so that if it ever comes time to do it for real, it’s not the first time,” CalFire Battalion Chief Rick Griggs said.

More than 25 firefighters trained in smoke-filled rooms at the abandoned Casey’s restaurant in Palm Desert.

“It has different walls. It’s a building they may not have been in before which would be no different than if we were being dispatched to a fire,” Griggs said.

Fire crews came prepared with full gear as they made their way into the building to find the victim through a smokescreen.

“Near zero visibility inside of the building and that’s something we encounter on structure fires,” Dutton said.

Griggs said firefighters need to develop the ability to function when entering an unknown area.

“What we are trying to do is teach them how to use their other senses,” Griggs said.

Firefighters will train in the area for the next three days. In the future, the old Casey’s restaurant will be demolished to possibly make way for a new restaurant.