When Every Breath Counts: Platoon 2 Runs Realistic VEIS Evolutions in Full Turnout Gear

Westport, CT - Firefighters from the Town of Westport Fire Department took part in an intensive quarterly self-contained breathing apparatus drill on Monday, focusing tactical maneuvers on the life-saving protocol known across the fire service as VEIS.

Conducted on Monday, October 12, 2026, the training evolution put Platoon 2 through rigorous scenarios centered around the high-risk, high-reward search discipline standing for Vent, Enter, Isolate, and Search. The tactical evolution is specifically deployed when dispatch reports or visual scene cues indicate viable victims remain trapped inside specific upper-floor rooms or exterior-facing compartments during an active structure fire.

Operating in full protective turnout gear and breathing from positive-pressure air cylinders, firefighters practiced the precise sequence of rapidly forcing or removing an exterior window, immediately entering the targeted room, and promptly closing the interior door to isolate the bedroom from the advancing fire and thermal draft coming from the rest of the dwelling. Once isolated from toxic gas and thermal currents, personnel execute a rapid sweep to locate, package, and extract downed occupants back out through the initial entry point.

Department training officers highlighted that quarterly SCBA evolutions ensure crew members maintain muscle memory and absolute confidence under zero-visibility conditions, keeping Westport responders primed to execute aggressive rescues whenever trapped civilians are identified.