The Minot Fire Department was training with various types of ladders, including its “aerial,” which is the department’s main ladder truck. The truck is outfitted with a boom that either the person on the truck itself, or the person on the large elevated work platform, can operate. The boom also is equipped with a hose, saving the firefighters from wrangling a hose up a ladder and giving them the capability of delivering water where it’s needed most.

The firefighters were practicing with a variety of smaller ladders, which are handled by one to four people, depending on the size. Crews are able to learn new techniques to safely handle, place and maneuver these ladders.

Dakota Hall at Minot State allows them the ability to work with different types, heights and sizes of windows than are normally available to them. According to Battalion Chief Jason Babinchak, the windows at their training facility along the U.S. 2 & 52 Bypass are close to what the crews would encounter in a real emergency, but it is great for them to experience variances. It’s much harder to traverse through a smaller window with gear on, so it’s worth taking the time to practice before being faced with a dangerous situation for the first time, he said. Dakota Hall gets them accustomed to the techniques needed to do their job safely.

Because Dakota Hall is destined to be torn down, the fire department also is able to set out at a faster pace, like a real scenario, and not worry as much about scratching the paint or scuffing up the siding.

Ben Pifher/MDN Senior firefighter Robby Blackwood, left, and firefighter Alec Rice operate the work platform on the ladder engine on the Minot State University campus Thursday.

MSU has made Dakota Hall available to the City of Minot for training operations. Along with the fire department., the police department uses it to train with its S.W.A.T. team, its Bomb Squad and its K-9s.

Dakota Hall is open to training for the Minot departments until the end of July.

Babinchak said the city also is using three-person crews on most of its fire engines, so having the additional practice allows them to adapt their skills to be effective at what is normally a four-person task. But getting firefighters out of their comfort zones and exposing them to a different environment was the primary benefit of the MSU training.

“We get used to placing this at our training ground. The guys can pull up and know right where to park to reach a certain spot,” Babinchak said of the large ladder engine. “Getting out of that situation forces them to think on their feet and gain familiarity with their equipment.”

Capt. Chris Aberle maneuvers the boom of the city’s largest ladder engine with firefighters on the other end during training on the Minot State University campus Thursday. Photo: Ben Pifher