Black Hills Energy conducts Fire Safety Training for area firefighters ...

Thursday, October 21, area firefighters from Decorah, Calmar, Fort Atkinson, Ossian, Waukon and West Union, as well as Mabel, MN participated in a natural gas safety training put on by Black Hills Energy. Firefighters practiced at the Decorah fire training facility, with a total of 51 firefighters joining the training to use techniques for effectively containing and extinguishing natural gas fires with the latest materials for portable fire extinguishers and hose streams under controlled circumstances.

In one exercise, firefighters used a fire hose and chemical extinguishers to put out a controlled natural gas fire under a scrapped vehicle (pictured in the submitted photo above), simulating a potential result of a car hitting a gas meter. In another scenario, firefighters practiced how to safely contain and extinguish a natural gas fire from pipeline puncture. The Black Hills Energy training is offered each year in a different portion of Iowa to fire departments throughout the utility’s 133 Iowa communities.

“Natural gas is such a safe fuel, it’s highly unlikely that firefighters would ever encounter that kind of fire,” said Ivan Hackman, Black Hills Energy Operations Supervisor for the Decorah area. “Our training provides a unique opportunity for hands-on experience and instruction.”