For firefighters, the most important preparation happens long before an emergency call comes in. With the backing of a grant from the Robert R. & Joan Hasenbank Fund at the Community Foundation for Mason County, the Free Soil/Meade Township Fire Department purchased a forcible-entry door prop that provides firefighters with a realistic way to practice gaining access to a home or other structure.

After the equipment arrived in June, the department held a hands-on training session in August with an instructor specially trained to use it. Firefighters learned how to safely break through a door, strengthening the skills they may need when someone is trapped inside a home or during a fire response.

“We always strive to do the best for the community and help out where we can,” said Melissa Willard, treasurer of the Free Soil/Meade Township Fire Auxiliary.

The department plans to use the equipment for continued practice and hopes to make it available for countywide trainings so firefighters from other departments can build those skills, too.