New blood trains at the Havre Fire Department

The Havre Fire Department has started training four new firefighters to help protect and serve the community.

"As a chief it's exciting," Fire Chief Mel Paulson said. "I think I've got four really good guys and they're working out really well. We have some youth, and there will be some challenges with that, but I think we got the leaders inside and the talent of these four guys that I think it's going to be really good. I think it's going to be good for the city and good for us."

Chase Hanson, Tristan Manuel, Brandon Smith and Blake Beard joined the department Oct. 19 and since then have undergone training situations and scenarios they might encounter while in the field.

Paulson said the requirements for working for the Havre Fire Department are that firefighters must be emergency medical technicians, because the department is fire-based emergency medical services, and must have 40 hours of fire training.

He said for these four firefighters, during the hiring process he dropped the required experience. This was the first time, Paulson said, he has ever sent anyone to Missoula's EMT school to get them trained.

"It's worked out very well, I think," Paulson said.

Hanson, Manuel and Beard were sent to Missoula Oct. 21 for EMT training with the Missoula Emergency Service Inc. The training took approximately three weeks to complete, Manuel said.

Paulson said Smith did not have to attend this training course because he is already a licensed EMT.

Manuel said they spent 10-12 hours a day going through the course to become licensed EMTs. He added that they were required to pass the national exam and the state practical exam before coming back to the department.

Hanson said they trained over the weekends to get their certified clinical hours. Besides riding with MESI, he said, he and Manuel worked a rotation at St. Patrick's Hospital in the emergency room.

Hanson said he wanted to become a firefighter because his father served the city as a firefighter for 22 years.

"I've always looked up to the career," he said.

He added that he grew up in Havre and attended Montana State University-Northern before graduating from the University of Oklahoma.

Hanson said his time in the ER showed him what he would see while in the field.

"It was a good experience," he said.

Manuel said he has a background in farming and ranching with his father and grandfather, growing up south of Havre. He became interested in the career as a firefighter after a friend, Todd Solomon, a retired firefighter, called him last summer and told him about a position opening.

"I didn't know what to expect," Manuel said. "I was pretty nervous."

They met several instructors in Missoula, he added, who made the EMT training simple and thorough.

"I did my ride along with the ambulance first," Manuel said, "so I got to see what you actually do in the job we were getting into. But then with the ER rotation ... you get to see what happens afterwards. So you get a pretty well-rounded experience."

He added that Rick Paulsen, who retired from a Missoula rural fire department after 30 years, came to Havre to go through the fire training with them.

Chief Paulson said the Fire Service Training School in Great Falls has really "bent over backwards for us" and they were the ones who sent Paulsen to Havre for the live-fire training.

"I couldn't be happier," Paulson said. "He did such a good job with these guys. ... I think it helped. It helped a lot."

Manuel said he just finished his second shift this week and he has enjoyed the job.

Hanson said he was on his third shift.

"Love it," he said.

He added the live fire training was a lot of fun.

"When you talk to these guys that's been in it," Hanson said, "they tell you, 'Anything we go over outside of (live fire training)' they're saying, 'Learn how to do this because you're going to have to do it in the dark.'"

Manuel agreed with Hanson that it was very surprising to have to learn to do things in the dark. He said they did one practice drill outside, with no live fire, but they all had to be fully dressed in their gear and work with a piece of cardboard in their masks. This was so it would be completely dark and give the firefighters an opportunity to work on relying on their senses other than sight.

"It's a humbling experience," Manuel said.

Hanson said that during the live-fire training, after putting water onto a larger fire, a person can barely see.

"That was surprising," he added.

He said one of the biggest things for him is learning to cope with a large amount of adrenaline.

"It's equivalent to jumping out of an airplane," Hanson added.

Paulson said, with time, firefighters will learn to control their emotions. They have to, he said, because in situations that the EMTs are needed or the firefighters are called they need to be a calming presence in a high-stress situation.

"Sometimes slow is efficient, and efficient is fast," Paulson said.

He added that when people have fires, many times large fires, a person can lose everything.

"It could be the worst day of their lives," he said, and that is why it is important for firefighters to be a calming presence.

To understand that emotion be able to control themselves, that's just a part of time and learning, Paulson said.

"There are some really good guys down here," Hanson said. "A good crew."

Hanson and Manuel agreed that they are both excited to serve the Havre community in the years to come.

"I think it's an exciting time for us," Paulson said. "I think we are young, and, to me, I think that's really exciting. Having a really young, fresh department. ... Things are really looking up."