Blackwood hosts major fire exercise
Fire crews from across the Mitcham hills descended on the former Blackwood Library and Karkoo Nursery site in a joint training exercise.
Eleven fire appliances, 60 fire fighters and 10 cadets from eight Sturt Group Brigades, along with the Upper Sturt Country Fire Service, used the two buildings to simulate an urban structure fire.
At the scene, crews wore breathing apparatus and PPE gear to navigate a building filled with artificial smoke.
Firefighters were tasked with sweeping through the building, searching for occupants, while others helped establish command points.
Belair CFS Lieutenant and Training Officer Craig Brooks said the site provided an ideal opportunity to conduct large-scale training.
“While our crews conduct regular training an operation of this scale only happens once or twice a year,” he said. “Having access to a building that’s not being used gives us the opportunity to really simulate a real incident, which is invaluable.”
Groups involved included Belair, Blackwood, Eden Hills, Coromandel Valley, Cherry Gardens and Upper Sturt CFS, along with Sturt Group Operations Support and Sturt Group Cadets.
In the lead-up to the day, senior fire fighters, captains and lieutenants undertook incident control training for large urban incidents.