To get some

perspective on the recent announcement that Fayette

County's top firefighter, Jack Krakeel, is now the

nation's top firefighter, it's necessary to think about

what the lives of emergency workers are like.

Like most,

I used to think that firefighters sat around the fire

house waiting for something to happen.

That was

before I was invited to participate in a training

exercise some years back. They try to make those training

exercises as close to the real thing as possible, and in

this one they did a pretty good job, from my perspective

at least.

Someone had

donated a house they wanted to get rid of, and the Fire

Department agreed to burn it down, taking advantage of

the opportunity to train firefighters in a real house

with real flames and smoke.

First they

suited me up with that 400-pound coat they make those

guys wear and put me in a group of three firefighters

holding a high-pressure hose. The idea was to use a wide

spray pattern from the hose to protect us from the heat

of the flames as we advanced on them.

On the

first try, with a rookie on the hose, we didn't have the

right angle or something and the pressure knocked us off

our feet. On the second try, we did better and a wall of

spray shielded us from the heat so well that only about

200 degrees of heat seared our faces instead of 400 or

500.

Five

minutes of that and I was nearly exhausted... and that

was when I was a lot younger.

Next they

showed me how to use the oxygen tank, filled the house up

with smoke and sent me with a group that was supposed to

search for a "victim" trapped inside. That

didn't seem like too tough an assignment. Breathing pure

oxygen, I wouldn't have any trouble with the smoke, I

surmised.

Incorrectly,

as it turned out. It's much better with the tanks than

without, I'm sure, but even with them your lungs are

assaulted with searing smoke and the smell is almost

overpowering. Your body tells you to forget the victim

inside and run like the wind.

I had been

told that the mask is not a 100 percent protection from

the smoke, so I wasn't totally surprised. What did

surprise me was how dark it was. It was broad daylight

outside, and I had a big old light with me, but my light

reflected off the smoke and I couldn't see more than a

foot or so in front of me. At one point, I lost sight of

the firefighter's feet immediately in front, and the

panic started at my toes and quickly worked its way up to

my throat.

`It's just

a training exercise," I had to keep telling myself.

I survived,

and came away with a new appreciation for what these

people do. And I had been given only a small taste.

That kind

of training is designed to save people's lives, not only

the lives of fire victims, but also those of the men and

women who risk theirs daily to protect everyone else's

lives and property.

If you work

for a good fire department, your leaders make sure you

get plenty of training in the almost endless variety of

disasters that you might have to deal with.

What Jack

Krakeel's peers have said by nominating him as the

Firefighter of the Year, and what Fire Chief magazine has

said by choosing him out of all the nominations, is that

Fayette's chief works beyond the call of duty to make

sure his people are well trained, well equipped and well

supported so that the danger to them - and to you

- is reduced.

Further,

they're saying that he works in regional, statewide,

nationwide and even international organizations to

improve the level of training and knowledge among all

firefighters and emergency workers.

That takes

a lot of dedication. He could probably get the same pay,

or pretty close to it, with a lot less effort.

Today is

Jack Krakeel Day, and there's a reception 5-8 p.m. at the

County Administrative Complex. Everyone is welcome.

Now you

know a little more about why that's important.

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