Recruits Near End of Academy with Live Fire Training

City of Madison Fire Department recruits are coming down the home stretch of the current academy. This week, recruits will be taking on the challenge of Smoke Divers training. Smoke Divers provides training for recruits to demonstrate a firefighter's ability to perform fire ground tasks and manage physical and physiological obstacles in environments that are judged to be immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH environments) while using self-contained breathing apparatus. The Smoke Divers program is designed to simulate worst case scenarios and will increase in difficulty with each hour. Arguably the most physically and challenging week of the academy, recruits will navigate a maze, through smoke to: • Negotiate obstacles with enough air to complete course • Demonstrate an ability to operate in decreased visibility • Identify and demonstrate how to deal with diminished clearance issues, overhead obstructions, and drop-offs Smoke Divers training is scheduled for Thursday, October 31, and Friday November 1, at the Fire Training Center, 1750 Pearson St. Training evolutions will begin at 7:30 each day, with activities concluding sometime late in the afternoon. Recruits are scheduled to graduate from the academy on Friday, November 15.