Sanibel Fire Department trains for the worst

Reporter: Asha Patel Writer: Rachel Murphy
Published: Updated:
Sanibel Fire Chief’s helmet (CREDIT: WINK News)

WINK News witnessed the Sanibel Fire Department preparing its first responders to save lives and be safe themselves.

The Sanibel Fire Department used a building that was a workforce affordable housing structure damaged in Hurricane Ian to train firefighters.

Sanibel fire fighters training (CREDIT: WINK News)

Deputy Chief John Dimaria said he wants his team to be prepared for anything.

“We try to prepare ourselves through training,” he said. “Each and every day I was on call when Hurricane Ian hit. I was at my home. I was fielding a lot of the calls that were coming through. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to respond out here through the storm, and it was heartbreaking to not field those calls and not be able to respond like we normally would.”

The training session is set up to be like the real deal: firefighters got the call, drove the fire truck, got a hose and tried to break down a door.

The Sanibel Fire Department will be using this affordable housing building to train for the rest of the week. When they are done, it will be torn down and rebuilt.

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