The Camp Pendleton Fire Department hosted various fire fighting agencies from surrounding communities to participate in a joint structural fire training exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Jan. 28.

The exercise involved firefighters from the local departments of San Marcos, Vista, Oceanside, Rincon and Carlsbad; it was centered on different methods of combating structural fires.

“We have the cadre that our organization has put together to train our department, but we also opened up our gates to our (partner) fire agencies that we do mutual aid with,” said John Crook, the deputy chief of training with the Camp Pendleton Fire Department.

While training to battle structural fires, the firefighters learned how different factors such as fire strength, wind direction and smoke color can help them determine the best way to effectively extinguish a structure fire in a real life scenario.

CPFD and many neighboring fire departments work together under a mutual aid agreement to assist each other in battling fires that may not be an immediate threat to their specific area.

“These drills are important because we get to train with people we wouldn’t normally see,” said Dan Karrer, a firefighter paramedic with the Oceanside Fire Department. “Everybody has different experiences and different things they’ve learned and can bring to the table, so when a big fire incident breaks out, we all can rely on and trust each other.”

Being able to work together with different agencies is very beneficial to all firefighters present, as it affords different agencies the opportunity to pick and pull knowledge from firefighters they wouldn’t normally work with.

In addition to exchanging skills and knowledge with each other, training like this also strengthens their bond with fellow firefighters.

“I think for training like this, everybody tries to emulate Oceanside, I mean we set the bar pretty high,” joked Karrer. “That’s part of (firefighting) right there, we joke and jab at each other, but at the end of day, we know we’ve got each others’ backs.”