Kevin Trudgeon, Staff Writer

REDLANDS Calif. — Fire Department members and University of Redlands students participated in a joint fire safety drill and rescue training in East Hall on campus Thursday afternoon.

In exchange for assisting in the student fire drill by filling the second floor of East Hall with smoke, the university allows the firefighters to use East Hall for training exercises.

As part of their safety and evacuation training, U of R student community directors and advisers who are in charge of the campus dormitories walked through a smoke-filled floor of East Hall to experience a simulated fire environment.

"There's been a lot of campus fire-related issues and newer mandates that are coming forward," said Glenn Crum, environmental health and safety technician. "This is the first time we've ever tried something like this, but it offers a piece of realism to the drill."

With their visibility almost gone, the students, who were divided into teams according to their respective residence halls, moved slowly through the second floor. Some held hands so as not to get separated, while others hunched over to stay below the smoke.

"It was pretty cool," said junior Ned Voytovica, 21. "They've given us a lot of training on how to handle different situations and what procedures to follow, but this was definitely the best. It just gives you an idea of what being in a real fire with real smoke would be like, and I think that's helpful."

After all the student community directors and advisers had walked through the building, they gathered outside East Hall to take part in timed bucket brigade drills, forming assembly-line teams to pass buckets of water from a full tank to an empty tank.

With the building cleared, the firefighters put on their gear and went to work, performing rescue training and simulated fire suppression drills in a multistory building.

"Basically, it's just a coordinated attack," said fire Capt. David Graves. "We've been here for the last couple days doing search-and-rescue drills, making sure everyone is out of the building. We work on carrying the hose upstairs and other training exercises."

With more training demands and qualifications, Redlands firefighters rely on companies and organizations allowing them to use different buildings to practice and train, said fire Battalion Chief Jim Topoleski.

With the Fire Department offering to help with the smoke drill, it was a win-win situation.

"We're helping them out and they're helping us out," Graves said. "It's important for them to have a realistic situation, and it's important for us to have a place to do some training."

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