Having recently witnessed the Pompano Beach Fire Department perform during an emergency training exercise, I can honestly say I have a new respect for all firefighters.

Ted Martin, the emergency commander for the Pompano Beach Fire Department allowed me to not only witness the firefighters train, but also to be apart of the experience.

Throughout November and December the fire department has been conducting independent training exercises at the abandoned Tails Restaurant, 2635 N. Riverside Drive to help the firefighters develop procedures to be able to escape an enclosed building.

“This [training] is about us not getting in trouble,” said Dave Smith, a Pompano Beach training officer. “We concentrate on firefighter safety and by doing that, we can help save other people. We can’t save other people unless we protect ourselves.”

During the training, the trainees and I had to follow a series of hoses to reach the third floor of the building to assist another crew, all while crawling on our knees, dragging a heavy hose and with the entire structure engulfed in smoke.

We were only in the structure for maybe 15 minutes, but it felt a lot longer than that. Once we were finished and I took off my equipment, I was dripping with sweat and was out of breath. And upon talking to firefighter paramedic Mark Baker, I found out I was lucky.

“Imagine doing that and then turning the temperature to 350 degrees,” he said.

I don’t want to imagine that and I’m glad we have brave people such as Baker to do a job I could never do. So, if you ever see a firefighter or any first responder, thank them, because I can tell you, their jobs are a lot harder than you think or least what I thought.