People Fund Helps Enhance Firefighter Training

When firefighters enter a burning building, visibility can disappear in an instant. Smoke fills rooms, hinders searches for victims, and turns already unfamiliar spaces into dangerous mazes. Preparing firefighters for those conditions is critical, and thanks to a recent $4,000 grant from Great Lakes Energy’s People Fund, the Marion Community Fire Department will offer firefighters a more realistic way to train for those life-or-death moments.

The grant awarded earlier this year helped the department purchase a professional-grade smoke-generating machine to use in its newly completed firefighter training facility, a project spearheaded by Assistant Fire Chief Bruce Tower after years of fundraising and community support.

The training center was built to replicate many situations firefighters encounter during emergency calls, including kitchens, stairwells, window openings, and many more.

While the smoke machine may seem like a simple piece of equipment, Bruce said its impact on firefighter training is substantial.

“It makes the training so much more realistic,” he said. “Other than the heat, it’s about as close as you can get to the real thing.”

In a matter of minutes, the machine produces dense, non-hazardous smoke that closely mimics conditions firefighters encounter during structure fires. It can be used throughout the facility in a variety of training scenarios. It can fill a mock bedroom before a search-and-rescue exercise or saturate a simulated attic space before firefighters practice roof ventilation operations. When crews open the roof, smoke pours out just as it would at a working fire. The smoke also provides firefighters with the opportunity to practice using handheld thermal imaging devices to guide their firefighting and rescue efforts.

The training center project was built almost entirely through community support. Over a two-year period, the department raised roughly $60,000 through donations, grants, and fundraising events. Local businesses donated labor, equipment, and materials, while the Village of Marion provided the two-acre site where the facility now stands.

“We are so grateful for the support we’ve received through grants, like GLE’s, and from the community, who continually support the department’s fundraising efforts,” Bruce said.

He added that he expects the center will become a valuable regional resource for many departments in the area to hone their skills. Rural fire departments often rely heavily on mutual aid, especially during major incidents, making joint training opportunities especially valuable.

“This training center is available to any fire department around that wants to come up and utilize it,” he said.

The center also includes features intended to support specialized training. A third-story training platform was designed to accommodate aerial ladder operations, allowing firefighters to practice working with aerial trucks operated by neighboring departments.

Bruce believes the facility will also help attract future recruits to the department by making high-quality training more accessible close to home.

For Great Lakes Energy’s People Fund, the investment is about more than equipment. It is an investment in firefighter readiness and the safety of communities throughout the region. Every firefighter who trains at the facility and every community they serve stand to benefit from the enhanced training opportunities it provides.

To learn more about the Marion Community Fire Department, including opportunities to become a firefighter or medical first responder and ways to support the department’s fundraising efforts, visit marioncommunityfire.org or the department’s Facebook page.