FD Sharpens Skills On Pre-Demolition Home

All five in Mahwah spent the month of June honing their firefighting skills by practicing on a home about to be demolished.

Michael and Dawn Brizzolara, a couple who recently moved to the Deerhaven section of Mahwah, purchased a home with the intent of knocking it down to build a new home on the property. Prior to demolition, they reached out to the MFD and donated the home to use the home for drills.

The MFD used the home to carry out the following drills:

• Simulating the search and rescue of a victim in a smoke filled environment (fake smoke used).
• Training was done by raising our aerial devices to the roof and using saws to cut holes in the roof for “venting” purposes using a smoke simulator to show the effects of such techniques. .
• Hose lines were stretched and a “fire attack” was executed to simulate a response to a structure fire.

Homeowner Michael Brizzolara said the decision to donate his home was a “great” one. “[I was taken] around the house while the firefighters were simulating a ‘rescue’ and got a glimpse as to what it’s like in a real fire. I thought the whole thing was very interesting.”

Mahwah firefighters released a statement thanking the Brizzolara family, and explaining why the realistic drill opportunity was important: “It’s awesome that they let us use the house because it gives us an opportunity to train on a real structure within a controlled environment. It is extremely effective when training new and probationary firefighters”.

Brizzolara said “The Mahwah Fire Department and its volunteers were courteous, professional and informative throughout the entire process. It was a pleasure and we’re glad we were able to help out”.

Anyone interested in donating a property for fire department training, can contact Mahwah FD Chief Brian Potter.

Information and photos submitted by the Mahwah Fire Department.

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