HOUSTON—Firefighters deal with smoke, heat and unpredictable dangers.
They go into homes, offices and apartments to rescue people and animals.
But sometimes, the life they must save is their own.
That’s why the Houston Fire Department built its new training facility. On the outside, it looks like a typical two-story home. But on the inside is a 3,400 square-foot obstacle course.
"We looked around, and there was several incidents where firefighters either lost their lives or had a near-miss. We took those incidents, recreated them and put them in six different prop rooms," HFD Capt. Tony Reed said.
They call it, "Survival House."
11 News watched as firefighter Ozzy Jacques tackled the house, all while wearing 75 pounds of gear.
He crawled, climbed and stumbled his way through a maze of darkness designed to teach firefighters how to get out of dangerous situations unharmed. .
Jacques helped build the house, but even he got lost in it.
"Couple times, I hit my head coming out unexpectedly. Holes I wasn’t expecting, a lot of obstacles – real tough," he said. "It’s a whole different ball game in the dark."
In November, all 4,000 Houston firefighters will tackle Survival House.
That training could help them come out of a burning building alive.
