November 26, 2001:

Tonight, firefighters from the Big Tree Volunteer Fire Company drilled in the newly constructed maze facility at the Orchard Park Fire Hall. Big Tree Training Coordinator Pete Lotocki arranged to conduct this mask confidence training in the recently completed Orchard Park maze. The maze features tight spaces, low ceilings, sharp turns, narrow openings and surprise obstructions. If this wasn't enough to make the training truly challenging, participants were required to traverse the maze wearing full turnout gear including SCBA with blacked-out masks. The zero-visibility conditions forced firefighters to rely on their sense of touch to navigate through the maze. Low profile maneuvers were often required in order for fighters to fit through tight spaces. Being able to don and doff SCBA in zero visibility was practiced during these training evolutions. The flexibility of the maze configuration allowed the instructors to change the physical layout of the maze for each evolution. All participants truly enjoyed this training experience. Our hats go off to Orchard Park on a great job constructing this training facility.