Feeling the heat: Firefighting recruits on P.E.I. put to the test in live fire scenarios

A new crop of recruits got their first taste of what it's like to fight fires, albeit controlled ones, as they completed the first level of their training in P.E.I. on Sunday. 

Around 55 students from across the province took part in their final day of practical field training at the P.E.I. Fire School in Charlottetown. 

The fire and smoke billowing out of a makeshift building on the school's grounds were very real, but the recruits said they felt safe with the knowledge they learned from their instructors. 

"It's really incredible to see what you can push your body to do, what you can do mentally when you're in there, different ways that you can kind of control what's going on," said Tessa Rogers, a new recruit to the Charlottetown Fire Department. 

"I thought beforehand that I would do well in a role like this, however thinking and knowing are two very different things, so once you actually experience it, it's really validating to know, oh hey I can do this and I do enjoy it, and it is meaningful." 

To prepare for their Level 1 certification, recruits spend 19 sessions learning the ropes in a classroom from January to March. 

Then it's three weekends of field exercises, culminating in live fire scenarios on the final day. 

Wooden pallets and straw are burned to create fires on the ground floor, stairwell and basement of the structure. 

"It's sufficiently rigorous. The students and instructors will experience heat and steam and smoke," said Kevin MacPhail, one of the deputy chiefs at the fire school. 

"There is always new research being done in materials which are burning, so the fire service is having to adapt and incorporate some of that new information into the lessons." 

I've done so many different things in life, but this is by far the funnest thing that I've done.— Niloofar Seifi Hesar, Charlottetown Fire Department recruit

MacPhail said the introduction of more electric vehicle chargers in people's homes, combined with more synthetic, petroleum-based building materials and paints all create new challenges for firefighters. 

But with their fire school instruction, this year's students felt well prepared. 

Some, like Charlottetown department recruit Niloofar Seifi Hesar, even found the training to be fun. 

"Everything is under control here. You have all your bunker gear, you'll be safe, instructors are with you if you panic," she said. 

"I've done so many different things in life, but this is by far the funnest thing that I've done." 

Fun might not be the word everyone would use to describe loading up with heavy gear and running into a burning building with little to no visibility.

But there are deeper reasons that draw people like Rogers into firefighting. 

"It's just a great way to give back to your community, be part of the community," she said. "If you're somebody who likes adrenalin and a little bit of … controlled chaos, it's great for that."