That's only at 2 minutes. >> This time on Hellfire Heroes, a training scenario starts off with a bang. >> You can never train too much for a job that can kill you. >> Right there. Right there. Get that guy. >> And firefighters undergo grueling drills. >> Firefighters dig deep >> to prove they have what it takes to survive. >> We signed up to put our life in harm's way to get those people out of there. In the untamed wilderness of Alberta, >> where seasonal wildfires can destroy a town in a single day. >> A special breed of firefighters risk their lives. >> Go. >> One, two, three. to serve and protect the people who live and work here. >> When it's game day, >> just hit the engine part. >> It's on until the last person is safe. >> We got you down here. >> We truly are the last line of defense for anybody that's out there. >> From battling a raging home fire >> to search and rescue. >> Hey bud, we're coming. >> No job is too big. >> Second crew on me. Let's go. >> Or too small. >> There's a cat. Because they're jacks of all trades. >> Hurry up. Hurry up. >> And masters of them all. >> Our fire crews put their lives on the line every day. >> It's all about honor, courage, dedication. Serve something greater than yourself. All across Canada, small rural towns rely on volunteer firefighters to protect their communities. You know, if it wasn't for volunteers, how would we cover this country? The volunteers are huge when you look at what they do and how they do it. >> You guys are smart. The shut offs there. You guys just threw the wise on and shut the wise off. Awesome idea. >> Well, I mean, you're nothing without your volunteers. We don't have a big tax base. We don't have millions of dollars to pay wages. And so, if our volunteers don't come, uh, we really just don't have a system. >> When you shut down, just really, really, really, really shut it gently. >> Wow. >> Okay. >> Ready? You all good? >> Good. They come from all walks of life. Some start young. >> Here for two years. Still loving it, >> others later in life. >> 26 years he's been on. >> It's still going on call. >> It's a huge commitment when you join the fire service. You have to at any time pick up and take off. And there's not a lot of people that can do that. >> And just like the full-time career professionals. >> Okay. Now, trash line. >> Every volunteer underos hundreds of hours of training to prepare for any type of situation. All right, guys. Let's go. Get underneath that hood. >> Because out here, far from all the big cities, people have to learn to take care of their own. >> We train and train and train to make sure that we understand what could happen. And if something does happen, how do we get out of it? >> We need those people that are just ready to go all the time. >> I think we're done. >> And for some new recruits, volunteering is just a stepping stone towards a new career. Tonight is training night at Yellowhead County Fire Hall 12 in Edson, Alberta. >> I'm going to have a timer going. You guys are going to do every station for 3 minutes. >> And Captain Curran Grant is leading a training session on one of a firefighter's most important survival skills. >> We're going to go over an air consumption drill. The purpose of this drill is to think about your breathing. Learning how to breathe and learning how to calm yourself down will get you out of a lot of situations. So, if you guys want to go get your gear on >> the basic bunker gear, which includes helmet, hood, pants, coat, gloves, boots, and air tank, weighs about 45 lbs. >> High knees, long strides. >> Each firefighter carries a 5,500 PSI air cylinder. This exercise is designed to show the new recruits how physical exertion and their breathing rates determine how long their air supply will last. >> 22. >> All right. The importance of controlling your air is is critical, especially on a structured fire. It's only what you have in that bottle, and you want to be able to have enough to get in there, do your job, and then get back out safely. >> At 28, Lieutenant Gabby Sunstrom is already a veteran. >> Okay, go. >> She started as a volunteer over eight years ago. Now she's a paid on call firefighter. >> Minute left, Gabby. >> And she's sharing her experience with a new batch of volunteers. When it comes to air consumption, there's a lot of different factors. Are you good at controlling your breathing? Are you good at calming yourself down and maintaining your composure in a more stressful situation? >> 3,000. >> Yeah, she kicked my ass. >> Zach Guads is also a lieutenant and he happens to be Gabby's boyfriend. But when it comes to experience, he knows who's top dog. >> She's got more time than I do in the fire service. Obviously, she wins in air consumption. It goes to moving stuff, though. Don't worry, I got this. >> 21-year-old Seth Sca has a year and a half in the fire service, and he's still learning something new every day. >> The hardest obstacle for me will probably be the up down obstacle. Appears to be the most physical for me. >> Do you need a pep talk? >> Sure. >> Are you ready? Are you ready? >> I'm ready. >> I'm ready. >> Yeah. Yeah, when I was a kid, I definitely had fire truck toys and would spray things with the garden hose, pretending to be a firefighter. >> All right, start your high step. >> The obstacle course includes six physical challenges that firefighters frequently encounter on structure fire calls. Seth has to complete the course with his mask on and a safe reserve of air remaining in his tank. You put that mask on, you start to restrict your breathing, and now you've strapped on a pack that's also kind of constricting you. I knew that the cones were going to get me. That's probably a movement that I have done the least in my bunker gear. [Music] >> By the time he reaches the fourth task, >> sorry, >> Seth is out of breath. I knew that one was going to kick my ass. >> It's okay. We'll just pace ourselves on this one. Pick it up. Let her drop. Pick it up. Let her drop. >> Firefighting is a tough, physically demanding job, but Zach knows some new recruits need a little extra time, and that's okay. >> At a boy. The goal is to make sure that we know that they're physically capable to do basic fire scene jobs. It's also a little bit of an eye opener to what they're getting into. >> All right, next one. Seth, >> the ones that push through are the guys that we want. >> Still got a minute and a half. >> The last obstacle gets the best of Seth. He runs out of steam. >> Take a 10sec break and we got to get back on that ladder. >> Firefighters, dig deep. >> But he's not a quitter. There's no age limit or gender requirements for being a firefighter. You only have to prove you're fit for the job and a reliable team member. >> I would hope that the people want to impress the members that are already in place. >> Three, two, one. >> That's a big thing with fireh halls. You have to earn the trust of the people that are already there. >> Good job, man. I think it's quite a bit of a mental game for me thinking there could be somebody that you have to save on the other line and you can't quit. >> Seth will need to train a lot more and get in much better shape before he's allowed to enter a burning building. 287 km north at the Lesser Slave Regional Fire Service in Slave Lake, Alberta, firefighters are engaged in a full-on live fire drill. here. We take our training very seriously and we practice like we play. So, we really want to make sure that our scenarios and our training is set up so it mimics real life as closely as possible. When the tank's air supply drops below 25%, it triggers an alarm. But that's no guarantee the firefighter will have enough air to complete a task or to get out. Because in a real life situation, a firefighter's mental state under stressful conditions can dramatically increase air consumption. >> You need air. Take it in. We train for as much of the variables as we can, but there is a lot of unknowns. >> Logan Skull became a volunteer firefighter when he was 16 years old. >> What's it in there? >> Sweaty, Smokeoky, hot. >> After 4 years of training, he landed a full-time job at the Slave Lake Fire Hall. >> Lee and Logan, you guys mask up. >> His first structure fire call could have been a terrifying ordeal, but once his training kicked in, he knew what to do. Walking into it, it's hot in there and can't see. You stick to your training, like keep your hand on the wall. >> Adrenaline is definitely pumping pretty hard. Just amped up, trying to get the job done. >> Logan's steady nerves and long hours of training drills paid off. But maybe the best part was knowing that he was finally accepted as a full member of the team. >> Yeah, there was some pretty good nozzle working there. >> Yeah, that was fun. Always remember that one for sure. It's my first structure fire going into, so that'll be with me the rest of my life. >> Back in Edson, the Yellowhead County firefighters don't have a training facility. >> Okay, I'll guide you in. Ready? >> Do this. >> Exterior wall. >> On the wall. So they have to get creative, even if it means getting down on the fireh hall floor for a structure fire drill with minimal visibility. >> I lost my burn. >> Not doing. There you go. Now hold on. >> 20-year-old Megan Hunt has just begun her training on how to fight an indoor structure fire. >> I have a full-time job. I'm a natural gas field operator. Most of my days off are spent at the hall. My parents think I'm a little bit crazy and my sisters as well. Megan and her team have their face masks blocked with paper to simulate a zero visibility environment when flames are knocked out with water and hot steam pushes the noxious smoke down towards the floor. Keeping their heads low to avoid the smoke. >> Keep going. >> The firefighters feel their way through the structure, searching for an unconscious victim. Ruth >> Ruth is a 150 lb dummy and the crew will have to pull her out of the building. >> Hi, Lyn. >> We're doing the rescue and I noticed that my breathing was getting heavier and I tried to control myself a little bit more. The more you work under air, the better you get at it. >> As they slowly make their way out, [Music] >> Megan's partner passes out. Nothing. [Music] >> But she soon discovers he's okay. It's all part of an act. >> And a test of Megan's ability to keep cool in a life and death emergency. >> Throughout the whole thing, I had a bit of panic, but I just had to find ways to try and calm myself down. A backup crew enters the building and gives the unconscious firefighter an emergency air supply while Megan hauls the victim out of the building. After simulating a CPR resuscitation, >> 26 27 28 29 30. >> Good. >> The drill is officially over. >> You wake up. >> Good job, buddy. And the award for the best unconscious firefighter in a training drill goes to Colton Armstrong. >> I think Colton's played the dead guy basically more than anybody else in this hall. He's gotten rather good at it now. >> If veteran firefighters Eddie Strauss and Mike Tomak had not been there, Megan would have rescued her partner Colton instead of the patient. >> In a real scene, I would have definitely taken Colton over the patient. We need to think about the best survival rate. You don't know how long that patient's been exposed. You don't know how long that patient has been unconscious or if that patient's even alive at some point. >> It's a lot different in the real life, right? Imagine thick black smoke at 700° and you're terrified out of your head. Okay. >> On March 28th, 2007 in Houston, Texas, Captain Eric Apt was looking for victims in a burning five-story building. Come on. >> He found two but got separated from his team. The dark smoke was so blinding he could not find his way out. [Music] >> As his air was running out, all he could do was call for help. Northwest command received. He's got a firefighter trapped on five. >> It took several minutes for the team to locate him using an aerial ladder to break through windows. He made it out alive, but three victims didn't. >> They're unconscious and we have to leave them. It's it's a very unfortunate thing and I I hope to God that never has to happen to me, but I can't say that it won't. Colton already has three years in the fire service and he's now a full-time firefighter. >> When I was younger, I always wanted to be like the captain of a spaceship, which isn't realistic. So, instead, I chose firefighting. >> This past summer, Gabby helped him get certified to drive the fire engine and run the pumps. >> For how much you have open all depending on your supply. Colton passed the driving and pump test on his first try, and today he's getting some advanced training. >> Tommy and I will help you out set up the draft. >> Drafting is what firefighters call pulling water from a standing body of water. It's a required technique for every rural firefighter. >> Where I'm from, we don't have any hydrants, so we draft all the time. We'll be pulling out of a lake, a creek, any kind of water source, a pool. >> During the Fort McMurray 2016 wildfire, technicians at the city's water treatment plant worked heroically to keep the water flowing to their firefighters. But when high demand ran some hydrants dry, drafting was one of the techniques they used to keep the fiery beast at bay. On this drafting drill, the pump operator must supply a hose line with water, hook up a hard suction hose, and supply the truck's pump with water from a 1500galon porta tank. >> We'll see who has the fastest time, and whoever has the slowest time, we're going to make fun of. >> Ready? >> Eddie is making this drill a little more interesting by turning it into a friendly competition. Colton goes first. >> One, two, three, go. The biggest thing about it isn't really time. It's more if you can pre-plan in your head as a pump operator. This step, this step, this step, this step, it's going to go off without a hitch. The first step is to send water from the truck to the firefighters. Colton connects the hose to the 65 mm discharge. Once he's got a steady stream of water going from the truck to the firefighter line. >> 127. >> He's ready for the draft. >> Good. >> You're good. >> With the hoses secured, Colton primes the pump to get the water flowing. >> Got one minute left. >> Now it's just a matter of keeping an eye on the intake gauges to make sure the pressure does not drop. Got it. 412. >> 4 minutes and 12 seconds is the time it took for Colton to supply water to the firefighters from the truck and make sure they wouldn't run out by flowing some more from the porta tank. >> That's fast. Let me put it to you this way. I put us up against any city department to do this drill. >> Zach is up next. >> We'll see how this goes. I just got to be Colton, right? There you go. Go. Four years ago, Zach was just starting out as a volunteer. Now he's a lieutenant with a full-time position. >> When I moved to Edson, I actually came here to go work in the oil field. I moved here and I joined this fireh hall and they hired me. So, that worked out a bit better than I planned. >> Zach's looking pretty confident, but this smooth operator makes a rookie mistake. Whoops. >> He got real excited. Forgot that you actually have to physically hook up just hand line to that truck. Completely skipped that step. Blew half of this water out of the back of the truck. >> I obviously need to practice too much. >> Practice makes perfect. And whether you're a volunteer or a career firefighter, [Music] when you're this remote, you have to be ready for anything, anywhere, anytime. responding for a long collision in the slowway on Highway 2, possibly injuries. >> Because the nearest city is over 200 km away, and when people call 911, they're usually running out of time. That's why Chief Coots never warns his crew when a call is just a drill. >> Yeah, we got multiple injuries, entrapment. This is a training session with live actors performing in a simulation of a severe rollover. >> There's four all injured. This car came off the highway doing at least 80 km hours and then rolled 100 meters down into the ravine landing on its roof. >> Right there. Right there. >> Chief has also placed two more victims in the river as if they were thrown from the car. >> Get that guy. It's a life and death scenario, but not uncommon to Slave Lake. >> It's a really serious call for us. This would be in the top 10 for any given year. >> Where you are? You know what time of day it is? >> It's a training drill designed to test the firefighters technical rescue skills. >> If you have a problem where somebody's stuck in a really tricky place, well, that's what Tech Rescue is there for is to get them out of those tricky spots. >> Chief Coots splits his crew into two teams. Uh, get 111 crewed up and uh, stand by for Lieutenant McConnell. >> Lieutenant Patrick McConnell will lead the technical rescue. >> Get them to get these firefighters in there. Get them doing it. >> Captain David Perkinson will command the patient extrication. >> Patient up here. >> Kayla is unconscious at the moment. >> Okay, let's get her out of there. She's number one priority. >> Yeah, I got water rescue guy getting ready to hit the water right now. Can you uh, pick him up on the other end? >> Copy that. The chief's son, Ryan, is Slave Lake's water rescue lead. Whether he's in charge of it or whether he's performing it, you know, for me anyways, the expectation is that he'll be getting wet. >> Firefighter Coots is in the water. We're trying to get to the patient over against the bank. >> Once you have that contact, never let go. That original touch when they think that everything is lost and they might die today, they have hope again. [Music] >> Hook them up. Put them down. The Slave Lake Fireh Hall is no stranger to water rescues. >> Just down here on the edge of the creek. >> Earlier this season, the Slave Lake crew responded to a call for two young children trapped on the steep banks of an icy river. >> How's it going, buddy? You okay? >> Ryan Coots along with Patrick McConnell's technical rescue team worked together to save the children. All right, >> the kids were all right, but for the chief, it was too close for comfort. >> That's close. The river rescue was a vivid reminder that sometimes the difference between saving a life and losing a life is a matter of training. >> The water rescue team has stabilized the patients. Now comes the real technical challenge, the ropes. Patrick calls in the ladder truck. He'll anchor his rope to a top rung of the ladder, run its 70ft extension over the embankment, and lower his line down to the subjects and rescue team in the water. >> Down on red, you guys are tensioned on red. >> Ropes and pulleys are a technical rescue worker's most important tools because they can be configured so that a person can easily lift far greater than their own weight. >> Yeah. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. I'll tell you when. Stop. >> There's a high expectation for this group to perform and to be the best at what this fire service has to offer. So, we we strive for that. >> The Slave Lake Technical Rescue team acceed the drill. >> Okay. All crews scenario terminated. All crew scenario terminated, >> which is real good news because next time it might be for real. >> All in all, uh, this went pretty good. Nobody's perfect. So, I give them an 8 out of 10. >> In our job, you don't always get a second, third, fourth chance. So, you know, if we can get it right in training, there's a really good possibility that we'll get it right when we're doing it for real. >> Back at Yellowhead County at the Edson Fire Hall, >> we'll take a walk outside. We'll go over the truck outside, get inside, look at some of the features, then we'll go for a crane. >> Chief Barry is taking firefighter Megan Hunt on a test drive. But it's not just any vehicle. She'll be driving Fire Engine 12, aka Milliondoll Baby, the latest acquisition in the fire department's fleet. >> Million-Dollar Baby is a lot taller and wider than your average fire engine. >> Holy, a lot bigger. >> It's a versatile threein-1 fire truck. >> Oh god. Let's see. Right out, right? >> Designed for firefighting, rescue, and extrication, and command center operations. We're able to, if we need to, run command out of the back of this vehicle. >> My favorite part of this truck is the air horn. [Laughter] >> That's going to get people's attention. >> It's a little bit nerve-wracking because it is worth a lot of money, but it's very exciting cuz I know it's the next step into this career. >> Remember, no matter what you do, it's always drive to a ride. So, if you got to slow down, slow down. You want to take the truck and the crew to the call. Come right at it. Give yourself some fuel and off we go. How fast you going now? >> 60. >> Give it some fuel. Get it up to speed. >> This fire truck's top speed is about 120 km an hour. It's built to pull a lot. About 35,000 lb, 3,000 of which is water. >> Get over your weight just a bit. You're starting to crowd the shoulder a bit. >> It's a little windy. You're a giant bus out there, so you can feel all the weather, especially wind. You can just kind of feel it push you on the road. >> I like to sit in the seat. If I'm comfortable, I'm really comfortable with signing them off. If I'm uncomfortable, then we go back to square one. >> Now your challenge comes. >> Now that Megan seems a little more comfortable with the truck, Chief wants to test her reaction time. >> So basically, we're giving them three lanes, and then we're going to drop this down and let them know what lane they have to choose. It's split-second decision. Nice. Get through the by lots. Get yourself over. Over. Over over. Nice job. Yourself back up to speed. Let's see what they get this time. Nice. >> All right, kid. Pound it. Nice drive. >> You seem fairly happy with it. I didn't get yelled at. I didn't get any complaints. So, if he's happy, I'm happy. >> Megan's ready right now to go out and start to drive the truck. She won't be able to drive to emergency calls yet. I need to get her more seat time, but she did a great job. I'm happy. Very happy. >> The fireh hall alarm signals a call for a vehicle fire and Colton jumps in the driver's seat. finger off. [Applause] >> Chief Barry finds a smoking vehicle 20 minutes out of town on the side of a snowcovered gravel road. >> Arriving on scene, single vehicle was fully involved. It's basically burnt out. Have a quick look at it and I'll get back to you with an update. >> While he waits for his crew, Chief decides to do a little detective work. [Music] So that indicator there's a a nozzle from a jerry can there >> and he suspects arson. >> But that tells me that something may have gone on here. They may have used an accelerant to start this fire that may now lead to a criminal investigation. >> We want to get backed up and ready to go. That'd be perfect. We just got to dump a little bit of this on it. We should be good. >> No need for the fire engine. A skeleton crew will do. >> We brought Gabby and Seth down in my vehicle. They had all the equipment they needed to deal with this call. >> Do you want to get right up in the bar? You want to sit there? >> They'll cool off any hot spots in the truck before starting up an investigation. [Music] Maybe even a shot in that bastard. There's not a whole lot we can do. It's cool. It's not going anywhere. >> Looks like a plate to me. >> The evidence seems to point to an arson fire. >> Is this a kind of a crime scene? Is this something that happened that people want to call? >> But today, Albert's work here is done, and the investigation will have to wait for the police. 287 kilometers north. >> Who has a lighter? >> Chief Jamie Coots is getting ready to give his crew a front row ticket to another vehicle fire. And he's really going to light this one up. >> Today we're got a favorable wind to push some smoke away from our training center and away from town. So, we're going to do a test burn of a minivan. I think we're going to be okay. The purpose of the drill is to let firefighters see what happens to a burning vehicle before they get to the scene and to witness the hidden dangers that can maim or even kill an unsuspecting firefighter. >> Had some vehicle fires in the last little bit. Uh the worst one I can think of is probably that PT cruiser. >> Just a few weeks ago, the Slave Lake Fire Department responded to the real deal, a roadside inferno, a fully engulfed PT cruiser. When they moved in, the flames fired back. The loud bangs didn't sound like exploding struts or bumper shocks, more like aerosol spray cans. >> Just brought to the forefront that we need to get everybody up to speed on vehicle dangers and vehicle fires. So, we're just uh doing that today. That's only at 2 minutes. >> Yeah, that's fast. >> Left to burn. The flames show how fast fire can spread and grow. >> Shows you it doesn't take that long to totally incinerate a vehicle. >> The greater dangers come from the intense heat that turns car parts into exploding rockets. >> Is that the gas shock tower? >> Yeah. >> Just the nitrogen releasing. Eh, it's not flammable, but it's violent. The steel chambers of the shock absorbers contain nitrogen. As they expand, they turn into a pipe bomb. With nothing else to burn and no more shocks to pop, Jamie cools off the remains. Look at the aluminum. Wow. We're taking that inside. That's some decorative wall stuff right there, boys. A cold puddle of melted aluminum is a souvenir of today's exercise and a reminder of the danger that heat can do. >> That's that shock from the back that holds the big door open. One of those pops in the back [Music] >> for the chief. If the lesson prevents even one injury to his crew, this training day has been a success. Well, you're asking these people to give up a piece of their life and leave their families and leave their jobs and come down to the fire hall and jump on the truck and and head out there. And the thing that robs me the most of sleep in my in my job in my life is that someone might get hurt. It's how do you deal with that? How do you live with that? A vehicle fire poses a lot of dangers, but the biggest risk to any firefighter is a fully involved structure fire. So, we're just burning down a a house here for a guy >> and we'll just sit out here and watch what we call fire behavior, right? >> When Chief Jamie Coots heard the owner was planning to tear down the old house. He asked if his crew could burn it down instead because when it comes to training, nothing beats the real deal. >> Have a look at the heat coming off. But use your heads, right? Stay back. Remember radiant heat. Remember that we don't want you hurt. End of the day, this is just a big fire behavior exercise now. All right, let's go, boys. Uh we're just setting up the hoses. Going to pull a couple hand lines and have a water curtain for the trees behind the house. I get to light the house on fire and kind of see some fire behavior and uh let people kind of see the different stages of fire. This is an old dry house. Lots of flammable materials. It's going to burn fast and hot. Exterior structure fire training scenarios are the norm across pretty much all of Canada. But here in Slave Lake, they have the space and the resources to do it in a big way. >> You know, you're fighting the beast there. You don't know what it's going to do. You don't know how far out of the constraints it's going to grow. It can be a deadly beast that will come and get you and everything that uh you know, and destroy it. That's what we're standing in front of. That's what we're trying to protect people from. >> Uh we're about 40 minutes into it. It's already starting to collapse. And you can see that you don't have long for a foot full house to be down on the ground here. >> I'm not scared of it. I'll never be scared of it. But I have a healthy respect for what it can do and its destructive powers. And so we just make sure we teach people how to stop those destructive powers. >> See that heat? >> Oh man. >> Down into the fire. >> With experience, you start to learn that it's not going to get us. We got the right equipment. We got the right people. We have the right training. Uh, we're going to win. It just might take time. >> Knocked it down with the water cannon and then the guys put out some portable monitors and everybody pulled together. We got her done. That's what counts. [Music] >> Chief Albert Barry doesn't have an old house to burn down for his trainees. But he's got something a little bit smaller. >> Just got a new tool. It's our match firebox that we have. >> You sparked that up. basic idea is to be able to produce a fire in an isolated box. >> The box, a scaledown version of a standard room in a North American home, is designed to reproduce the stages of thermal layering, a key concept for firefighters. >> Thermal layering in a fire, if you think about it simply, a fire starts and obviously heat rises. So, if it was outside, heat would rise for a certain point and then it would start to cool off and it would stratify. When you look at a a building with a a fire in it, the layers basically build off that fire. Eventually, the heat is going to rise, hits the ceiling, and then builds back down. Eventually, when it gets to the floor, you're going to reach a, you know, potential flashover where everything in that room is going to reach its ignition temperature. It's going to burn. There we go. Because of the energy that's trapped in the box, everything in there is burning. And if that's the case, it's unservivable. We're we're not going to be able to survive that box. Intense heat, thick black smoke, and rollovers are early signs that flag the potential for a flashover. Understanding the basic scientific principles of fire behavior can make the difference between life and death. Since 1848, over 1,400 Canadian firefighters have died in the line of duty. With more tragic fatalities every year, every fireh hall in the nation is trying to reduce the injuries and deaths by training and retraining their firefighters. >> Today, we're working on firefighter survival and different survival techniques. >> This training session teaches a few basic techniques for navigating in a zero visibility, fully engulfed structure fire. Sometimes things go wrong and you need to train so that you don't panic and so you know how to get yourself out of that situation and or help another firefighter out of that situation. >> Going down. >> Yeah. Let's find our home. >> In this drill, Seth has to learn to rely on his sense of touch to feel his way out of a dangerous situation. >> Got the hose. >> If you ever get lost or separated from your hose line, you get a little disoriented. If you can find your way back to that hose line, first thing you're going to do is you're going to get to one of your couplings, which they've made it to right now. You're looking for the female coupling first. That'll lead you all the way back to your pump cuz the female screws onto your truck. They keep following their hose line. They're going to eventually be led back to their pump and out of the building. We always train for the worst. In this next scenario, Colton will play the part of a firefighter trapped inside a structure fire and it'll be up to Megan to rescue him. >> We go into and smoked out buildings and you don't know what you're getting into. People have stuff all over the houses, you know, building that's just being built and uh it's got all of its wiring exposed. So to get something stuck on your bottle or get yourself tangled up without even realizing, I mean, you could look down, holy man, I got stuff all over my legs. Last summer, on a call for a structure fire just outside of Slave Lake, Lieutenant Patrick McConnell and his crew faced the dangerous job of tracking a fire down inside a house made up of multiple additions. >> Hopefully never get far. >> All they were trying to do was get to the end of the structure and they couldn't cuz there's so much debris. >> This has got to get pulled down. They located the fire inside the roof, but the interior attack left so much debris on the floor, it became a hazard. >> So, they're picking it up off the floor and throwing it out the window to make room. >> The threat to the firefighters is real, and Patrick needs to make a decision. Pursue the fire or pull the crew out. Piles of debris and the building's unusual layout become a serious risk factor. >> You got to be able to make decisions on the fly with with the information that you have and you go with the decision until it's the wrong one and then you change it to make it the right one if if you need to. >> I'm pulling everybody over. >> So, Lieutenant Patrick McConnell decides to pull his crew out so they don't get trapped. Back at the Yellowhead County Fireh Hall in Edson, Colton Armstrong and Megan Hunt will practice a similar scenario. But instead of being trapped by debris, Colton will be tangled up by a loose piece of wire. And Megan will have to rescue him. >> So guys, he's straight to the left. >> But first, she has to locate him. >> I have found Colin. >> Got him. Megan takes her time and slowly loosens up the wire to free her partner. >> Here's the end. >> To save another firefighter, I would go through that wall. I would walk through that fire. You go until there is nothing left in your tank and you go after that. >> If any member of my team were to go down, there's not a lot that could stop me from helping them. This is the >> Zack. That's the end of it. Is >> that the end? >> Yeah. I think we're good. >> Nice. >> All right. Let's get out of here. >> Well done, guys. >> When you go through a door with a partner, you have to know that it's two in, too. The number one concern that you have is you and your partner. That's it. Everything else on top of that is what we're able to gain. But if something happens to your partner, you deal with that person immediately. But after all the intensive training is done, perhaps the best lesson a firefighter can learn is to always expect the unexpected. And that's something that can only be taught by experience. 2015, Captain Peter Durn of the Fresno Fire Department in California was trying to vent a structure fire when the roof collapsed under his feet. Get him out. >> Captain Durn was engulfed in the fire for more than 90 seconds. >> Coming out. >> His fellow firefighters saved his life, but he suffered second and third degree burns over 70% of his body. One of the things you'll find with firefighters throughout the world is people are exiting. We're going in and people will stop, what are you doing? Why do you do that? Right, wrong, or different, that's what we do. For some lucky firefighters, doing what you love means doing it together. >> Straight to the toy. >> Like these two, Megan and Seth, who just bought a house together right here in Edson. We go to a lot of calls together, so it's usually us in the back seat together. And it's nice having him beside me. And there's not a lot of people in this world that get to do the things that we get to do together. And and uh yeah, it's it's pretty exciting. >> It is. Yeah. It makes me insanely proud to be a firefighter. >> People think of firefighters of like they're a different breed of people, right? Like you have to be something special to be a firefighter. Some of them, yeah, they were born to be firefighters. And some of them were just like me. They didn't they didn't know they wanted to be a firefighter, but one day they woke up and they were. >> And some of the younger firefighters are quietly making ambitious plans for a long career. Colton applied to the Calgary Fire Department and is waiting to know if he made the first cut. >> A big benefit of going to uh one of the neighboring cities. At the moment, I don't have a pension or benefits. So, that's those are two major things that I'm missing out on. It's not easy to become a career firefighter in the big cities. Out of 3,000 applicants, only 30 are hired every year. >> The email says that I've been invited with 1,250 others to participate in the next step of the pre-screening process. >> I'm not pushing to get out of here. I'm at the end of the day, I'm still a firefighter and I love this job. So, if I do it here or the next city, that's it's fine by me. Drills and training help firefighters develop skills for saving the lives of those they have to protect and the lives of their fellow firefighters. But how can a fire chief learn to do a better job? If you want to be a good chief, you want to surround yourself with really good people. And you want to be able to take the the Kines or the Gabbies or the Zachs and Colton's and enable them to move into other positions and enable them to maybe someday be the chief of the department. [Music] Maybe in like 20 years I might want to move up. Right now I enjoy being on the truck. I love working with the guys. >> They should hurry up. We're done. >> Well, folks, >> helping somebody on their worst day is you'll push yourself to just about every limit you have to do your best to actually help someone. You don't get that anywhere else. >> The day that I I know I'm going to retire is the day that I come to work and that everybody's got this. >> Can you make it out? pretty much out. >> Okay, nice job. >> They are the future of the fire service. That's, you know, the the best way to put it. >> We're going that door. Actually, Logan, >> you know, I work with some of these young guys that they'll be better than I'll ever be. They started earlier and and they're more dedicated at a young age and they're smart, capable people. >> Down. >> This is home. I don't think I could live without being able to do this every day for the rest of my life. >> But life over limb, that's how you go. >> Fighting fire, lights and sirens. Doesn't really get much better than that. It's not a job to me. It's how I live. >> That was a good time. Guys did a good job and it was great. >> The team means everything to me. Doesn't matter to me if you're full-time, part-time, volunteer. All of these people give up so much of themselves to try and save or help somebody else. You know, I just have the highest level of respect for anybody that can do that job. [Music] [Music]