Colton and Loma Linda Fire Departments Bring Firefighters Together for Forcible Entry Training

From Friday, Jan. 30 to Saturday, Feb. 1, Colton Fire Station 211 hosted firefighters from all over Southern California. Visiting firefighters came to town to attend training in forcible entry. The lesson was a collaborative effort of the Loma Linda and Colton City Fire Departments, who trade off hosting the event. The lesson was taught by Fire City Ops, a group of working firefighters from Los Angeles who provide extra training on certain subjects. "For whatever reason-the agencies, the funding-nobody was offering this training," said Matt Ott, an L.A. firefighter and one of the founders of Fire City Ops "We (Ott and his partner Gregg Avery) realized we weren't getting this training and figured if they (the agencies) weren't going to do it, then we would do it." With this goal in mind, Ott and Avery gathered their fellow firefighters and set out to teach lessons on everything from forcible entry and ventilation to search and rescue and elevator training. All of the material taught during the forcible entry training came from a former firefighter named Lane Kemper. Kemper was a captain for the Los Angeles City Fire Department who decided to study and regulate the way firefighters gain entry to a locked building. With this knowledge, he created a lesson plan that is still used by Fire City Ops today, 8 years after his death. Steve Hall, another Los Angeles firefighter who worked with Kemper, taught the first half of the lesson covering special entry techniques, and even included some humor. "We put in a few funny videos to keep the guys entertained," said Hall. "We provide these services hoping we can make a difference and save a life, whether it be a firefighter or a civilian." All the materials in the slide show-including the laughs-were the same material used by Kemper to teach these techniques. After that, there was a quick lunch provided by the program, and then it was on to practical training in the firehouse yard. The practical training consisted of a series of props designed to simulate various types of doors and scenarios the firefighters might face in the field. There was everything from garage doors-opened by the vertical Kemper cut, named after Lane Kemper, to the panic hardware doors often used in restaurants. Colton Firefighter David Santos was not part of the training that weekend, but he took the forcible entry course in Carlsbad and feels the course offers very efficient and quick techniques that the firefighters might not learn otherwise. Colton and Loma Linda Fire Departments may have been the one to invite Fire City Ops, but firefighters from all over registered for the class. There were firefighters from Ranch Cucamonga, Redlands, Fountain Valley, and Compton. Jeff Gillette, a member of the Colton City Fire Department and the man who first suggested Fire City Ops come out, said the chance to meet other firefighters is part of the appeal. "They enjoy the interaction as much as the cutting," Gillette said. "It's about getting people from different agencies training together," said Ott. "Now, when you go to an incident, you know everyone is on the same page. And that collaborative training effort, that's huge."