Two large fire trucks sat directly off to the right of the entrance of the Magic Place room, just waiting to be noticed among the vendors and firefighting equipment. The biggest truck belonged to the White Shield department. Even though no water would be pushed through it for the event, the truck’s 1,250-gallon tank was still loaded with water. The truck is one of four trucks of different models purchased by the new White Shield department.

In the 4-H Hall, first assistant chief Clint Gilbertson, of Dwight Fire and Rescue in Dwight, talked to his group about ladder safety and how to tell if a ladder needs to be removed from service. He said one of the first indicators is damage. If the ladder’s integrity is compromised in any way, such as a weld coming loose or a rung being bent, it is to be removed from service until it can be repaired and recertified.

Another indicator is the round stickers on the inside of the ladder. Those stickers turn black when exposed to unsafe heat levels. The ladder is to be removed from service until it can be inspected for damage and recertified.

In the All Seasons Arena, 19 cars were separated into two sections for passenger extrication: beginner and advanced. The beginner section held nine cars that were delivered by Ole Olson’s Towing, and the advanced section held the remaining 10.

Ciara Parizek/MDN Clint Gilbertson, left, talks to his group of students about stickers on ladders and what they mean on Friday at the State Fair Center. The stickers discussed during this session are expired, and the ladder would not be able to be used until it has an updated sticker and has been recertified.

Fighters in three beginner classes started on Thursday, spending four hours in a classroom before putting in eight hours of practical training on Friday. Joe Gartner, Erik Kanz and Ray Martinez with the Bismarck Fire Department have been invited by NDFA for the last few years to teach the extrication classes.

The firefighters used a tool called a halligan and an ax to make what Gartner called a purchase point, which is a gap between the body of the car and the door for the spreader to do its job. The jaws of life are used to cut the doors and roof off the car, making it much easier to remove the passenger trapped inside.

This year, Gartner said, they added the advanced class, which uses cars that are flipped on their sides, on top of other cars or upside down with the trunk sitting on top of another car. To set up the vehicles, Gartner worked with people from the fairgrounds who had forklifts at their disposal.

As additional protection, plastic tarps were spread out around the overturned vehicles to catch any leftover fluids that may not have been drained prior to placement.

“Everything is easy when it’s on wheels,” Gartner explained, referencing the beginner class. “You take a car and put it on its top like that and you take the door off? It’s totally different. It’s different because you’re working upside-down.”

The firefighters who participated in the beginner extrication class will not be able to participate in the advanced class until next year. Gartner said it gives the firefighters time for the training to stick and gets some practice under their belts before moving up to the next level.

The NDFA’s 70th annual State Fire School continues through the weekend.