STURBRIDGE, Mass. (Aug. 20, 2025) — Sturbridge call firefighters spent Wednesday evening rotating through training drills designed to simulate fireground emergencies and improve search techniques.

The session covered three areas: mayday procedures and disorientation, low-profile self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) maneuvering, and search operations with a thermal imaging camera.

Instructors included Lt. Roderick and Firefighter Gelinas, assisted by Firefighters Danna and Joyce. Crews practiced calling maydays over the radio, locating hoseline couplings by touch, and working under simulated low-air conditions with SCBA alarms activated.

Other exercises required firefighters to remove and push their SCBA cylinders through narrow spaces before redonning them. A separate drill focused on teamwork and communication during searches using thermal imaging.

Officials said the training is part of twice-monthly drills for call members, who balance regular jobs and family responsibilities while supplementing Sturbridge’s full-time firefighters.