WEIMAR — This is real.

Tuesday’s large-area search training conducted by Placer Hills and Cal Fire crews may have been simulated, but the conditions firefighters face when searching for victims in 500-degree heat and thick, heavy smoke are indeed real.

“This is where we have the highest potential (danger) during a large fire to with firefighters getting trapped or lost,” said Capt. Tim Robinson of the Placer Hills Fire District about the Weimar Institute, where the training took place. “You have an old building that has a lot of rooms.”

Tuesday’s training was conducted to give fire crews a simulated experience using new search ropes to find victims and firefighters in large buildings such as apartment complexes and dormitories.

“This gives us the ability to see what it’s like on many fronts,” Robinson said. “Not only what it’s like to technically do a search, but to see where our physical fitness level is. This is a controlled envi-ronment but what do you get when you add 500-degree dry heat, smoke and anxiety?”

Crews, with blacked out face masks to simulate the zero visibility they may face in a real-life situation, conducted situation searches of each room of the building.

Different scenarios had firefighters and victims trapped under filing cabinets and book shelves, in closets and even up a ladder in the loft of the building.

Some of the first crews on scene would “run out” of air, and a second crew would enter and help extricate the victim.

“The rope is like the quintessential bread crumb,” Robinson said. “It is their lifeline in and out. It is what gives them an idea of where they came in and gives them a way to get back out.”

When entering an ignited building, crews conduct what is referred to as right-hand search or left-hand search.

Crews will enter the building and keep making right or left turns until they find a wall, door or staircase, Robinson said.

They will search each room and hallway until a victim is located.

“We are all pretty familiar with these conditions,” said Matt Slusher, an engineer-paramedic with the Placer Hills Fire District. “But this (training) gives you the worst-case scenario. On scene we have thermal engine cameras so that even when there is hardly any visibility we can still see pretty well. But being blacked out puts us in the worse possible situation we could experience.”

Capt. Karen Cross of Cal Fire said training with Placer Hills crews is vital because the two re-sources are often dispatched to the same scene.

“Both of our departments respond to incidents in the Colfax and Placer Hills area,” Cross said. “Knowing what type of equipment they have is important and the more we train with them the better off we are.”

Placer Hills Chief Ian Gow said Tuesday’s training was made possible with the help of volunteers from the district’s auxiliary and funding through Proposition 13.

Measure P, which appears on the Nov. 4 ballot, requires voter approval to authorize the fire pro-tection district to exceed appropriations limits associated with Proposition 13, a ballot initiative passed by California voters in 1978 that places significant limits on local property taxes.

Placer Hills Fire officials say if the measure is not passed, it could threaten response times and training situations similar to Tuesday’s.

Those against Measure P, including Republican Party leaders, argue that the district should live within a constitutional limit (the Gann limit), which allows spending to increase according to the cost of living and population growth.

Auxiliary volunteers Ruth and Bob Dalrymple brought breakfast and refreshments for crews Tues-day.

“This is something that is crucial to everyone,” Ruth Dalrymple said. “We can’t fight fires, but we can come out here and support the crews.”

That support along with invaluable training is something the department depends on.

“This is what it’s like,” Robinson said. “This is how much energy we use and this is how much air we need. These are real-life scenarios.”

The Journal’s Jenna Nielsen can be reached at jennan@goldcountrymedia.com or comment on this story at auburnjournal.com.

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More information: Measure P

Read more about the Measure P issue at auburnjournal.com/detail/91759.html