LFD uses old frat house for training

An abandonded Sig Ep house is put to good use by firefighters. We wonder if they got the stale beer smell out yet?

Michael Smith/Boomerang Staff Jim Hoflund stands outside of the old Sigma Phi Epsilon house at the University of Wyoming during Laramie Fire Department training. LFD filled the house with artificial smoke to simulate the effects of a real fire for training Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights.

While fake smoke rolls out the front door of the vacant Sigma Phi Epsilon house at the University of Wyoming, two firefighters pull out a 175- pound dummy and immediately begin talking about what they saw inside.

The Laramie Fire Department has been using the old frat house for training drills. Shift trainers Jim Hoflund and Kyle Polidora were responsible, in part, for overseeing the various drills over the past three nights.

The unfamiliarity with the building is really where this training opportunity stands out, Polidora said. The old frat house has a wide range of room types, from hallways with multiple doors to large open areas like a basement or an attic, that present new challenges for Laramie’s firefighters.

“We’ll get it smoked up to the point that you can’t see your hand in front of your face,” Hoflund said.

That’s when the firefighters use thermal imagers.

“We’ve used our thermal imagers on quite a few real fires, but going out and training with them — it’s kind of neat to be able to see their capabilities,” Hoflund said. “It sees through smoke with infrared technology, which is really cool.”

The thermal imagers can be a firefighter’s best friend, Hoflund said. When children are in a burning building, they’ll often run from the fire and hide, but a thermal imager can pick up their footprints on the floor leading the firefighters to their location and potentially saving a life.

Laramie Boomerang Online - Laramie, Wyoming News and Information