“It was hot. Real hot,” said one Minot firefighter after completing the training exercise and downing a cool drink.

Tuesday a battalion of firefighters engaged in a simulated aircraft fire at the Minot International Airport. It’s a yearly exercise that introduces new firemen to the challenges they may face in the event of an actual aircraft fire, and helps sharpen the skills of veteran firemen.

“We have to stay trained and ready for anything that happens,” said Paul Laskowski, Minot Fire Department captain, shortly before the simulation began. “This is an opportunity for us to actually get out and test the truck and test our skills.”

The live fire aircraft rescue simulator featured realism, from fire on the ground such as from spilled fuel, to a smoke-filled fuselage where the visibility was zero. There was even the sounds of people screaming for help and crying out in pain.

Kim Fundingsland/MDN This Minot Fire Department firefighter gets a face full of flames in a simulated aircraft rescue held at the Minot International Airport Tuesday. Other firemen were inside the smoke filled fuselage searching for dummy victims.

“We have to go in and rescue possible victims,” said Laskowski.

While some members of the battalion worked at containing blazes outside the aircraft, others crawled inside to search for victims. An adult dummy was carefully brought to the doorway. So too were dummy children.

“We do a lot of classwork and a lot of hands on and this puts it all together,” explained Laskowski.

At a post-simulation briefing firefighters discussed what they encountered during the simulation. One subject was the use of search lights which actually made seeing anything more difficult because the light reflected off the smoke. Brief use of the individual lights however, was said to be useful to locate a fellow firefighter by seeing a reflection off a uniform or equipment. Breathing tanks were necessary inside the aircraft, another aspect of the simulation that brought a sense of realism to the drill.

Three battalions of Minot firefighters are participating in the live fire aircraft rescue. There was a training session for one battalion Monday, a second battalion Tuesday and the third battalion will engage in the training exercise today.