BOWLING GREEN, OH (WTOL) - Firefighters risk the change of running into dangerous situations every day, making the training process for firefighters a crucial step in saving lives.
The state fire school is happening this week across northwest Ohio.
Those training are doing so in the memory of two firefighters killed three years ago. The new generation are motivated to learn as much as possible to keep them from meeting a similar fate.
The drills firefighters go through revolve around putting the men and women through real life situations to ensure the safety of their crew.
Jason Castile, a firefighter and paramedic who came in for the training, said, "That's a gut check because that is somebody that you have spent sometimes only months, but sometimes years sitting next to every third day. And, now they're on the radio saying, 'I'm in trouble.'"
In the fire world, they refer to this as, RIT, or rapid intervention training. This is training firefighters hope they never have to use, but the reality is, they have to be prepared for the worst.
In an all too relevant reminder, the names of the two fallen Toledo firefighters Stephen Machinski and Jamie Dickman were written on the side of the house used in the training..
Tammy Ohrt, who works with a crew who was there that day, said, "It does hit home, so yeah, it does."
The training is taught by four Toledo firefighters, and they hope it provides the confidence to sacrifice.
"Your job is important, it's essential. And you hope to never have to use the skills you learn in today's class," said Toledo firefighter, Jake Hoffman.
