Last night members of the Argyle Volunteer Fire Department and Friends of Liberty Volunteer Fire District conducted training on the Denver Drill. Here is a little history behind this training.
The Denver Drill is a firefighter training exercise that was created in 1992 after the death of Denver Fire Department Engineer Mark Langvardt. Langvardt died from carbon monoxide poisoning after becoming trapped in a small space during a commercial fire. The drill is designed to teach firefighters how to use mechanical advantage to remove a firefighter from a second-story window in a confined space:
A firefighter is trapped in a closet-sized space below a window.
Two firefighters enter the area to rescue the victim.
Firefighter One checks for solid flooring from outside the window.
The drill is taught throughout the United States using a training prop that's designed to replicate the dimensions of the space where Langvardt died. The prop is a 28-inch wide, 8-foot long hallway with a 20-inch wide by 28-inch high window at one end. Firefighters practice the drill in full turnout gear.
When there is a firefighter that dies while on duty an investigation is done and the findings are released. In cases like this some kind of good can come out of it so that this does not happen to anyone else.
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