A group of 15-20 Iroquois Job Corps students were honored with a lunch at the Genesee County Fire Training Center on Tuesday, after completing a Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) Training Maze at the county training grounds on State Street Road.
The new Training Maze was completed in the fall of 2022. Students were able to experience the maze they helped construct while wearing firefighter’s gear, which adds about 80-100lbs. of weight.
The new training maze replaces the old maze which was created by Iroquois Job Corps students in the 90s.
The new maze is designed for firefighters in Genesee County to use to enhance their skills and build their confidence when entering a home or building during a fire.
“There are different evolutions and scenarios, and it helps them use their senses, we usually send them through without visual ability by obscuring their masks to create smoke conditions inside a fire,” says Tim Yaeger, Coordinator, Genesee County Emergency Management Services
“It’s not always the same each time they go through it, there is a tunnel, a ramp that goes up, stairs that go down and some small tight corners. It helps them build confidence in themselves and the gear that they are wearing.”
Planning for the Training Maze project started in 2017 with a new barn/garage that was constructed which houses the maze. There was also a two-year planning process to secure funding and donations. Deputy Coordinator Gary Patnode looked at several plans before deciding on one that fit Genesee County the best.
“84 Lumber made a very generous donation, covering three quarters of the material cost. We then reached out to the Job Corp, they took us in with open arms,” says Gary Patnode, Deputy Coordinator, Genesee County Emergency Management Services.
The students who participated in the project are part of a pre apprenticeship program through the United Brotherhood of Carpenters Union that covers brick, electrical, paint, CMA and CNA.
“It was quite a project for these students to do,” says Robert Trautwein, Carpenter Instructor at Iroquois Job Corp.
The project was delayed five days after the students started in March of 2020 due to the pandemic. A year and a half later the students went back to work and put in a total of 300 work hours.
“It’s been great working with these guys, they have been patient with us to start with, because it took us a while to get back to it. It was a great learning experience.”
