Demonstrating the ongoing commitment to continuous learning, more than 30 West Grove Fire Company volunteers gave up their Saturday to train all day at the West Chester Fire Training Center.

The all-day training session featured continuous live-fire drills, giving firefighters and apparatus operators opportunities for hands on experience and skills training under realistic heat and smoke conditions. With Safety Officers setting real fires with pallets and hay, conditions allowed fire crews to respond, don breathing gear, stretch hose lines, and fight fires inside the Fire Training Center's structure.

Each scenario included an Engine and Ladder truck response, with crews deploying lines, setting up ladders, performing ventilation, and conducting search and rescue. After each scenario, Officers discussed the response, answering questions and offering advice about how best to conduct the scenario. Crews rotated between the Engine, Ladder, RIT (rapid intervention team), and Rehab/Rest Scenarios. Due to the live fire situations, a RIT team was always in place in case of an urgent situation developing in training. WGFC Line Officers rotated as well, serving as Incident Commanders, Crew Leaders and Operations Officers.

Safety reviews all day long followed a walkthrough and safety review at the start of the day. Our thanks to Gap Fire Company -- Lancaster County Station 42 -- for standing by at West Grove during the training day.