BELLAIRE • MEMORIAL • RIVER OAKS • TANGLEWOOD • WEST UNIVERSITY

Bellaire Firefighters in Action

By Jenna Mazzoccoli, Contributing writer | October 12, 2020

Click the Buzz Me button to receive email notifications when this writer publishes a new article or a new article in this column is published.

Pictured (from left) are FF/EMT-P Jim Bradford, FF/EMT-P Donald Elmer Jr., Trisha Pollard, FF/EMT-P Carl Nedzel and FF/EMT-P James White.
Commander Davis Farquhar assists one of his firefighters with their oxygen tank.
Firefighter Doug Castleberry gets suited up to begin a drill in the house.
The inside of the Pollard’s house after a week of training sessions with BFD.
A fog machine is used to simulate smokiness.
Bellaire Fire Department parked outside of the Pollard residence on Maple Street.
Firefighter James White gets suited up to begin a drill in the house.

On Trisha and Randy Pollard’s property on Maple St. sits an old house badly damaged from Hurricane Harvey. The Pollards recently purchased the property with a new build in mind; they plan to demolish the house later this year and build their dream home. But in the meantime, the Pollards donated the use of their home to the Bellaire Fire Department for firefighter training.

“There has been a new addition to the Bellaire squad recently,” said Trisha, a former Bellaire City Council member. “I thought this would be a good opportunity for the guys to show the new recruit the ropes."

Firefighters simulate a safe exit from a burning building.

The Pollards have lived a few streets away from their new property for years, but they are looking forward to their brand new home in the new year. Trisha recently handed over the keys to Fire Chief Deacon Tittel, and the fire department used the house for training for two weeks.

“In this donated home, we are able to do a lot of training we are typically unable to do,” said Lieutenant TJ Girt. “Of course, we can make mock-ups, but we don't often get to practice like it's the real deal.”

A firefighter duo navigates through the smokiness of the cramped hallway to find the fallen dummy firefighter.

Tearing through walls and cutting holes in the roof is all part of the job when you're a firefighter. For two weeks, different shifts of firefighters have been in and out of the Maple St. house, climbing on the roof, breaking down walls and running drills – an invaluable experience to practice life-saving skills.