There were 15 FFI and 7 HazMat practicals (stations where we had to perform tasks to prove our abilities). The exams went well. FFI was easy as we were well prepared. the HazMat exam was a two level final written exam. The exam covered the Awareness and Operational certification levels. It was a couple of long days of "hurry up and wait".
When it was our group's turn to take the test we were stuffed into a windowless room, hot and sweaty from having just completed the practicals, and seated to wait some more while the testing process commenced. As you can tell it was not the most exciting time.
With FFI and HazMat completed we were now set free, so to speak, to burn off some energy at the local pub. FFI test day was also my 42nd birthday and it was interesting. The CO in charge thought it might be nice to allow me to be the first recruit to complete my practicals so I was first. I passed all the stations without a hitch, unfortunately that freed me up to assist the rest of the class at their stations. So I ended up hauling and reloading hose for 4 hour in the sun while the others completed their tasks. A nice gesture on his part, how could he have known. The evening out was a needed and well received break.
The old hooches have been removed (rolled away) and from now on recruits and guests will sleep in comfort in the new building. An era has ended and a new one has begun. 
As we have moved along our firefighting journey our CO's have loosed the reigns a bit. Here is an example: Morning PT (physical training) this week provided a break from the norm with a little dodge ball. 
We did end up breaking a water pipe and spraining Cpt. Dressel's thumb but other than that it was a good time with little else of note.
As we enter the final stages of our training we are finding that our abilities are becoming refined. Our CO's wanted to give us a chance to display our new talents without instructors around constantly correcting and coaching. NIGHT OPPS were in order. The event was originally planned for Monday night but we backed it off a day due to the mental and physical fatigue of the testing process. So Tuesday night it would be. After a few discussions I volunteered to be IC (Incident Commander), for two reasons: no-one else wanted the responsibility and I needed the practice. 
17:30 We were toned to a multi story single family residence with smoke and flames showing from the A and B sides. 
Reports were informing us of multiple possible victims. Engine 1 arrived followed closely by Ladder 1. A short report was radioed to dispatch prior to Battalion 1 arriving (that would be me) on scene and assuming "Academy Command". 
I arrived on scene in the "Red Rocket", a red golf cart with emergency light mounted on top, and was assisted by a CO as I took over and ran the show. (After the initial deluge of reports and assignments I was on my own to command the operation.) It was actually quite easy once things got rolling.
The event was not without its challenges as every fire is. Chainsaws wouldn't start, ladders were poorly placed, rigs were too close, gear malfunctioned....just like the real world. Except for us it was practice. But it was still nice to not have instructors screaming at you and criticizing your every move. A few students from the Truck Academy, who were spending the night, came down and sat in chairs to watch the festivities. After 2 hours the night was done, all victims were rescued and the rigs were back in service. Originally we were told that if we did Night Opps on Monday night we would have Tuesday morning PT off, a welcomed morning of sleep. But since we bumped it to Tuesday nigh we were informed that Wednesday morning PT would go off just like normal. "Just like normal" was the actually quote........I awoke at 05:00, my normal time to brew some Joe and study or go for a early morning walk. I was heading to the classroom when I noticed the red light flashing at the facility pump house; indicating the hydrants were charged and water was being pumped somewhere on the fire grounds. "Hmmm" I thought that's odd. I turned to view the fire tower and saw smoke, A LOT of smoke. Last night's fire must have rekindled due to poor overhaul and one of the COs is down there hitting it with water. I got myself down to the tower to help haul hose. All three COS were in full gear LOADING the tower. "Huh!?" I was greeted with a loud, "Robinson, get the #&*$ outta here, what the *&$% are you doing down here!" Apparently their morning started at 04:00 when they came down to reset the tower for a morning PT burn. I laughed and made my way back to the new dorm building to be greeted by three engines, light and sirens blazing, announcing a fully involved single family residence very similar to the house we fought fire at just 6 hours earlier. I had the distinct pleasure of running thorough the dorm slamming into bedrooms and waking my peers with yells and screams of "Fire, we got a fire!" (Welcome to the fire service!) We fought the small blaze for an hour right up to breakfast time. It was a blast (again all victims were rescued) and those of us who have served for awhile understood the significance of back to back fires and how taxing they can be. The newbies were just pissed. The lesson: if you can't handle this how will will you do when there are 5 aid calls in between fires. Because that is how the real world is. (The Chief was impressed and shared with the class how hard our COs had worked for us, and that this kind of event is unheard of. We will probably never have another chance to fight two fires back to back in a learning environment without instructors, ever.) It was a good week. I was awarded the Bulldog for my command of the Night Ops. The Bulldog is a rotating honor to be worn, all 6lbs of it, by the selected recruit as recognition of a job well done.
Tony
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