Pre-service firefighter students dropped the books and learned firsthand about what it takes in Hazmat situations.
"We got called to a hazmat leak, we didn't know what it was but we knew there were two victims down," said Dexter Hupe, a student of Confederation College’s pre-service firefighter program.
"We had to show up in our Level A suits,” he said. “We had our own breathing system inside the suit, and an air cylinder on the back. It's really hard to get in so you have to get two other people to help."
Hazmat training is a specialized service for firefighters when responding to certain situations involving hazardous materials, like chemical spills and ammonia leaks.
When it comes to operating in a hazmat suit, the challenges are many.
"Today was all about giving students the experience in a safe and controlled environment,” said Shane Ferguson, pre-service firefighter program manager, “so they know what to expect when they enter their careers.”
The need to be prepared wasn’t lost on the students.
"You have to tell your brain to calm down," said student Derek Antoniszyn, commenting on the importance of the day’s training. "It is problem solving on the go, if you start to panic it's not problem solving anymore you are just fighting yourself."