
Former fire chief Eric Claussen said in over two decades of firefighting, he had never gotten a chance to just practice his firefighting skills on a row of buildings. "I'd venture to say that almost everybody here has never done this," he said. "It's a very rare opportunity."
How rare is it? According to Fort Washington Fire Department President Eric Racz, "The last time, to my knowledge, that there was a live fire training in Montgomery County was over 20 years ago."
Lead fire instructor John Fogg added, "We do probably about 30 of these a year throughout the state and this is the first time in the last six, seven years that I’ve done one that’s been in a row of houses that we’ve had the entire row."
Firefighter Matthew Chiodo, who completed his training in November, said the experience helped him get a better grasp of his equipment.
"We’re rotating groups so I gotta be patient," Claussen said, "but there’s plenty of fire for everybody."