Fire teams from Missouri’s Cape Girardeau, Gordonville, Jackson, Scott City, East County and Millersville fire departments held live-fire burns in early June — valuable training one firefighter says, “cuts your teeth into the fire service.”

For that firefighter, 33-year-veteran Jerry Siemers from Gordonville, one of the training structures holds special significance — it was his grandparents’ home and held many childhood memories.

“I’d spent a lot of time there — a lot of Christmases, lot of holidays in here, a lot of Sunday afternoons after church. I drank a lot of Milde’s cream soda and ate a lot of Dixie Queen doughnuts in there,” Siemers tells the Southeast Missourian with a laugh.

Siemers tells the Southeast Missourian training live-fire training is invaluable.

“This is how you learn, and stuff you learn on days like this is what might save your butt 10 years down the road, you never know.

“It’d be nice if more people would allow us to have access to good, quality structures like this to train in,” Siemers said. “You can build all the training houses in the world, but none of them simulate real-life situations like actually burning in an honest-to-goodness, well-built house.”

The Southeast Missourian reports Cape Girardeau Fire Department battalion chief Mike Ramsey led the training and estimated 30 firefighters participated in about 20 separate burn exercises to practice techniques such as hose deployment, ventilation and fire suppression.