Lake Hiawatha Fire Department

F.A.S.T. Drill 13 May 2004

The Lake Hiawatha Fire Department has a special group of men who go above & beyond the standard training and drills of the regular firefighter. The Firefighter Assistance and Search Team (F.A.S.T.) goes to other departments working structure fires and stands by in case a fire fighter is trapped, disabled or lost. As you can imagine rescuing a firefighter who is trained to operate in the hostile conditions of a structure fire is a more technical then rescuing a civilian. The FAST firefighters attend an additional 12 drills a year. To be considered for FAST the firefighter must have 2 years of experience and complete Firefighter Safety & Survival Training and F.A.S.T. training.

This drill was held at the old Montville Inn on Rt. 202 in Montville, NJ. Much thanks to Chief John Osborne and all of the Montville Fire Department for letting us use this unique structure before it is demolished! These photographs were taken by Captain Jay Wieners.

 

Click on the Picture to Enlarge it!
Firefighter Tracey practices wall breaching. This is done when we need to rescue someone and there is no other way to reach them or when a firefighter is trapped and must escape to save his life.
Firefighter Tracey still at work, this is an older building. Notice the lathe & plaster wall surface - this is hard work.
Firefighter Tracey continues to chop his way to safety
The hole is finally big enough for Firefighter Tracey to escape through
Commissioner Dave Hess likes to get the kids interested in the Fire Department EARLY. Here he shows Assistant Chief Adam Sonzogni's son Matthew how to control the light tower on 644
The men rest between evolutions and review what went right and what could have gone better,
Matthew likes flash lights allot.
Assistant Chief Sonzogni & his son Matthew
Chief Golden manages the Accountability board.
Hiawatha's Bravest in a smoke filled room
Firefighter Wellman escapes from an entanglement with his partner, Firefighter Dohm right behind him.
Even in light smoke it's hard to tell who's right next to you. If your house is on fire get out fast and don't go back in!
Keeping beneath the heat...
Firefighter Shaun Wellman attempts to breach the wall
Keep going Shaun
Just a little bit more Shaun....
Chief Sean Golden - even the Chief has to keep his skills sharp.