How Firefighters are Protected While Battling Flames

The PASS device stands for personal alert safety system which is triggered when firefighters are not moving

WEST FARGO, ND — They put their lives on the line to save others but how do firefighters stay safe on the scene?

There are some features that help protect them while they are battling flames.

Firefighters are heroes in our community, saving lives when danger approaches.

“I’d rather risk my life and do that for somebody else,” said Levi Nesvold, with the West Fargo Fire Department.

Especially when these men and women are out in brutally cold temperatures in North Dakota and Minnesota.

“But knowing that if something happened to me my partners are going to be able to find me and bring me home to my family is definitely some reassurance,” said Nesvold.

The PASS device stands for personal alert safety system which is triggered when firefighters are not moving.

“Ours register after about twenty seconds with the first beep and after thirty seconds it starts going into alarm mode,” Nesvold said.

It seems like a routine song and dance.

“When we’re standing there and we’re all pretty good dancers as it is,” said Joe Johnson, with the West Fargo Fire Department.

But it’s more than just a wiggle.

“We keep moving so our passes won’t go off,” Higbsib saud,

And in these frigid temperatures, it’s also a reminder to keep moving so their bodies don’t freeze up.

The firefighters are also given tags with their names on them.

One stays in the truck, one goes on a cone outside of the scene.

“They can say I’ve got Levi, Joe, etc. etc. in the building we need to go get them now,” Nesvold said.

Firefighters are doing everything they can to save the lives of others.

“We’ll try every mean we can. If they’re trapped in a room we’re coming through a ladder, we’re coming up the stairs, we’re coming in from this side, we’re cutting holes in the wall whatever needs to get done,” Nesvold said.

But these helpful tools are preventing their lives from being taken.

The West Fargo Fire Department has a philosophy.

“Every day we say that. Everybody’s going home tonight we don’t want any fatalities we don’t want anybody to get hurt,” Nesvold said.

The firefighters say fires are continuously changing and with these advancements in technology, it can help them save more lives.