Dyer fire, police train in each other’s shoes

Eleven first responders from Dyer underwent training Saturday to not only better respond to emergencies but have a deeper appreciation of what police and firefighters do. Training included responses to various situations, from jumping out of buildings to confronting shooters.

Fire Chief Joe Martin said the exercises represented the first of numerous training sessions for police and fire.

“This will help us strengthen responses to incidents in town as a whole, for public safety and personnel safety,” Martin stated. “We can see the end result of what we do, but we also want to gain mutual respect between the two departments.”

Six police officers and five firefighters participated in the training, held at the Multi Agency Academic Cooperative Foundation center, a hands-on training facility for emergency personnel.

“I think it’s exciting,” Patrolman Tiffany Smith said of the experience. “Often there are incidents where we team up [with firefighters].”

Smith hoped that fire crews become aware of their surroundings. “What they’re being called may not be exactly what it is,” she cautioned.

Martin explained that fire personnel would be reviewing structure fire scenes. They also practiced emergency bailouts for “new-found respect of fire behavior and dynamics of a fire scene,” the chief said.

Police also dressed in firefighter gear and learned how to “hit a hydrant,” connecting it to hoses. A fire hose, they learned, can be 50-100 feet in length, and, when full, can hold 500 pounds of water.

Lt. Ben Stutler, a seven-year Dyer firefighter, hoped police learn “what we do. We want everyone to be safe. If they’re at a fire, we want them to know what they should do and what they should not do.”

Stutler continued, “We want to communicate what they must do to keep safe.”

Patrolman Matt Gustafson, a three-year police veteran, said the training “will be great. There’s a lot to learn. Hopefully this will help the fire department know we’re on the scene a lot.”

Firefighter Nicholas Minkema added, “I hope the police department understands how they might be able to help us. The goal today is mutual respect, so we can help both sides.”

Minkema also wanted police to know “basic stuff” about firefighting, since police may arrive on the scene before fire crews.

“Hitting a hydrant or hooking up a 5-inch line can save us a lot of time,” Minkema noted.

Martin said the two departments will work on further training together, including on-scene care for infants, traffic incident management and handling hazardous materials.

Police and fire agreed that the three most important goals for responding are scene safety, incident stabilization and property conservation.

“We’re not out to make firefighters police officers or police into firefighters,” Martin stressed. “We want to see what we can do to help each other out.”

Fire Capt. Scott Hemmerich, an instructor, added, “We’re working on a greater respect for each other, to put them in each other’s shoes, and vice versa. It’s also about community risk reduction.”

Celina Weatherwax, president of the MAAC, cited the “depth of cooperation and collaboration that took place to make this happen. The Dyer Fire Department and Police Department learning more about each other is unique, and we’re proud to offer the training.”

A nonprofit agency opened five years ago, the MAAC offers its facilities at no charge to departments.

Police and fire personnel received training in crime scene preservation and in responding to hostile events. Training involved the VirTra shooter simulator.

VirTra offers science-based training simulation designed to teach various cognitive and psycho-motor skills. These range from de-escalation to judgmental use of force to situational awareness.

Police and fire personnel teamed as pairs in the VirTra. Armed with air guns, each took turns individually in response to a disturbance, then worked together on a larger incident, a shooting incident at a movie theater. Each also carried a threat-fire, a device giving off a mild shock to represent a shooting.

Among the duos were officer Zach Vassar and firefighter Brandon Manno. Both fired their weapons during the simulations.

“It’s completely different for a firefighter,” Manno said. “You have to learn to watch all your surroundings, like 360 degrees.”

Vassar, who said he has been fired upon but not hit as a police officer, said police typically secure an incident scene and keep fire personnel and vehicles at a distance before police declare the area safe. Manno noted that, depending on a incident, such as a domestic report, police remain with rescue personnel.

“This was a good learning experience,” Vassar commented.

Bryan Sanders, a VirTra instructor with Dyer Police, said participants were critiqued on several areas, including verbal communication and their movement on patrol.

“Verbal communication is something we use every day,” Sanders said.