By Nicolette Helling, FOX 21 News

DULUTH - Community members suited up in fire gear and braved burning buildings on Saturday.

"Fire Ops 101," held at Lake Superior College Fire Training Center, provided the unique opportunity for the untrained to step into the life of a fire fighter.

"I'm Lisa Wilson and iI'm here today to see what it's like to be a firefighter."
Dressed in turn out gear and equipped with oxygen masks, groups of Duluth's elected officials, media, and other community leaders play firefighter for the day.
But they say it doesn't feel like playing.

"It's not like you see on tv where they're running around and you can see everything," said one Duluth firefighter, leading a live-burn exersize.

With masks shielding their eyes, participants watched flames consume furniture and climb the walls and ceiling of a burning room.

"It was very hot. It was very hot in that spot," said Jay Fosle, Duluth city councilor.
Activity leaders say it's the smoke that turns everything black and makes visibility nearly non-existent.

"You gotta use your senses, your hearing, you can feel the heat. You gotta listen for it," said activity leaders.

Duluth Mayor Don Ness was one of about 25 participants who was most impressed with the live-burn exercise.

"Very cool. Yeah, I enjoyed it," said Mayor Ness.

The whole point of "Fire Ops 101" is to give city officials and other high profile community members a real taste of what these firefights do every day.

"I was surprised by how smoky and dark it got once, you know, you extinguish part of the fire," said Wilson, an assistant attorney with the city of Duluth. "And it's real hard to see!"

For some, the challenges met today were eye-opening.

"I saw how fast these fires actually build," said Fosle. "Within two minutes the ceiling was engulfed from a chair."

Firefighters hoped today would give community leaders a better idea of what they do, how they do it, and what they need to get the job done.

"It's just about providing them an opportunity to learn about what we do," said Firefighters Local 101 President Erik Simonson, firefighters' local 101 president.

"Often times they have very little working knowledge of what the fire department does."

After today's search and rescues, HAZMAT training and ladder climbing, fire fighters say participants should have a clear picture of just what it takes to be a Duluth Firefighter.

"I put fire out with the hose and I climbed the buildings and I started the chop saws," said Folse. "It was really good."

This is the 4th Duluth Fire Department "Fire Ops 101" and organizers say, past on participants, this year's was the most successful.

The message they hoped to send to participants Saturday was, response time for any incident is critical and so is adequate staffing.