Crime & Safety
Photo Gallery: 3,500 Degrees of Conflagration
Evanston firefighters discover that adverse conditions can make a routine training exercise very dangerous.
The 10 firefighters advance, five to a line, shoulder to shoulder. Hoses held aloft, the teams approach a flame shooting 30 feet into the air. A propane tank is broken, and keeping the hoses focused on the base of the flames is the only way to keep the resulting fire away from the shut off valve.
As the two lines approach, step by careful step, ever closer to the 3,500-degree heat, one of the firefighters slowly reaches forward with a gloved hand. As he turns the valve, the hoses battle the fire relentlessly, pushing the flaming gas away from the brigade. With one final squeak of the valve, barely audible over the roar of the conflagration and blasting water, the fire is gone, and the danger passes.
Such was the scene Tuesday afternoon in the remote west parking lot of James Park on Oakton Street near Dodge Avenue. With gas provided by the Illinois Propane Education and Research Council, these firefighters were training in the proper procedure to handle a dangerous propane tank leak.
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Even wind gusts of more than 30 mph didn't deter Joe Jay, a field instructor with the Illinois Fire Service Institute. "We do 88 classes a year in all kinds of conditions," he said. "We can't let the wind stop us."
Click the picture box to start viewing Evanston Patch's photo gallery of the Sept. 7 training session.
