ALAMEDA’S HOMETOWN FIRE FIGHTER TRAINING ACADEMY: A LITTLE KNOWN COMMUNITY CENTERPIECE

The First In A Series Of Behind The Scenes, Live Training Videos Of Firefighter Recruits And The Program In Action

Video, photos and text by Larry Freeman

Please View Video By Clicking On The Arrow At Bottom Of Story

With “Turnout” gear, oxygen tanks and masks in place, a group of Alameda Fire Academy Recruits receives instruction before engaging in a forced entry, victim rescue training activity. They will have to pry open a latched metal door before crawling and climbing, fire hose in hand, into a hot, dark, two story, densely smoke filled compound, to prepare them for the daunting conditions they will eventually face ‘on the line,’ in the call of duty.

Alameda, as both a hometown community and as a government entity, holds many special, yet little known or hidden gems scattered around or tucked away in various enclaves around town.

While The Alameda Theatre and Cineplex, The U.S.S. Hornet Museum, and the imposing, distinctive brick structure of City Hall stand out as defining landmarks, another locale of great note , way under most folks’ radar, is a bland looking building at the former Alameda Naval Air Station on the West End.

Named simply “Fire Station Five,” the plain façade is no more distinctive that most of the old Navy structures, generally non-distinct, beige painted rectangles of one or two stories, save the old hangars which loom large.

But, as this video series explores, there is very much of note and importance that lies behind the walls and doors of what is designated only as Building Six on the City’s aerial map of the former base.

The structure and interior courtyard are home to The Alameda Fire Department Training Division’s Fire Academy, a fire fighter school, in essence.

On October 5, select members of The Fire Recruit Class of 2023-1 completed their training and passed the required State Tests to graduate after 24 weeks of being put through the paces. Ten matriculated to Alameda City Fire Department, and one to Milpitas. They advanced to positions of Probationary Firefighters as they become seasoned.

**Smiles beaming, and new badges gleaming, proud new members of The Alameda Fire Department’s Academy, Class of 2023-1 assemble during Graduation Day on Oct 5.**

Alameda’s program, became an “Accredited Local Academy” in 2022 under the auspices of The California State Fire Training division to deliver certified firefighter Level 1 and Level 2 training curriculum and conduct state approved tests to determine Recruit readiness to meet State and Federal requirements.

Unlike so many traditional academic programs, a great emphasis lies in taking the theoretics from readings, lectures and multi media content and putting it into practice in the facility’s training compound and in the field.

Areas of focus involve Structural Firefighting, Wildland Firefighting, Marine Firefighting, Technical Rescue, Hazardous Materials, Incident Management System, Fire Prevention, Fire Inspection, Emergency Medical Services, Live Fire Training, Water Rescue and many more subject areas.

**Fitted with the necessary gear, swimmers enter the water to begin the day, while instructors in boats and jet skis ready themselves for a demanding set of training tasks that lie ahead.** **Recruits will spend many hours in the chill waters of Seaplane Lagoon as part of the skill, endurance and conditioning training that comes with becoming water rescue capable.**

A U.S. Coast Guard Chopper creates a storm-like water wash and waves from its high-speed rotors to create a daunting swim survival environment. Note the two bobbing heads of Recruit swimmers –just above the prow of the Zodiac– who have to kick and stroke their way out of the surging, wind whipped wave environment. The outboard powered small craft cruises by, en- route to pick them up outside the perimeter of the ‘copter generated churn and swell.

While AFD’s accomplishment is commendable and of great benefit to Alameda, allowing us to have new first responders that are trained in their own backyard, so to speak, it is really the accomplishments of those Recruits who make it through the months of intensive academic and physical task demands that tell the deeper story.

Twelve of AFD’s on- line (on the job) members, part of Alameda’s Training Division headed by two Captains and an administrative assistant, are certified training instructors who are central to delivering the regimentation, mind set and skills it takes to work in a lives and property on the line calling on which all of us citizens rely.

Ongoing training for those who are experienced veterans is also a core function of the Training Division, with AFD noting that its members logged over 18,000 hours among them.

But words only go so far in letting the public better know of and understand the rigor, risk and resolve it takes to train, much less respond, to incidents that pose peril to Firefighters’ lives and limbs.

Two Recruits ascend the ladder during another phase of the victim rescue exercise. Inside, in the dark with a controlled fire burning in a part of the compound, they will have to crawl on the floor and feel their way into the smoke filled, obscure confines to find a victim dummy and bring it back down the ladder while another group works to quell the flames.

This first, in a series of video documentaries, will give you a better feel for the remarkable, standout kinds of happenings that take place behind the non expressive façade of Fire Station Five., and you will share in some of what The Class Of 23’s Recruits underwent to earn their spots to protect we members of the public.

ANN would like to thank Alameda Fire Chief Nick Luby, Training Division Captain Alex Barbour and AFD Apparatus Operator and Public Information Officer, Kevin Tidwell, for their permission, support and cooperation to allow photo and video coverage of some high intensity ‘classes in session’ events.