Superior Fire Dept. Takes Advantage Of Abandoned Building For Training

SUPERIOR, Wis. – The dangers of firefighting are very real, and that means dozens of hours of training every year.

On Wednesday, Superior firefighters got an opportunity to get the best type of training possible by using an abandoned building.

Superior fire officials said these opportunities don’t open up often, but when they do, they reschedule whatever they are doing to get firefighters together to really hone their search and rescue skills — while building a stronger bond under tough circumstances.

“What it really comes down to is crew continuity and trust. We need to know that we can trust everybody that’s working alongside of us, and with that trust comes the knowing of how their doing everything, how they’re going to approach these situations and make sure that they’re doing it safely, but that we’re doing it as a team. So it’s a lot of team building,” said Battalion Chief Joe Tribbey.

The team-building experience is also crucial for the department’s newest firefighters.

“We’re creating the future of the Superior Fire department. We’re taking these younger guys and we’re giving them real life situations and real life training so that when us old veterans do leave, they’re the next generation and they’re going to be training the next generation,” said Capt. Mike Hoyt.  “They’re loving it. It’s something new, it’s reinforcing, it’s hands on, and anytime you give a firefighter an order to go break things and get hands-on training, they’re all smiles about it.”

Duluth firefighters will join Superior firefighters Thursday to do a joint training exercise.  Officials said they want to create better relationships between agencies so when mutual aid is needed on either side of the bridge, there won’t be any hesitation.