VIDEO: Shumway Fire Department Trains for Propane Tank Fire

Ask any firefighter and they'll tell you, training never ends. 

While the technology, gear and rules may change, the dangers of fighting fire are best addressed by training. Fire crews from our area regularly meet to train for various scenarios, from a controlled-burn of an abandoned structure to the type of burn Shumway's department invited us to Monday evening, training for a propane tank fire.

Propane tanks are still common for many rural homes, and firefighters know their danger well. Should fire reach one or get hot enough near a tank, the results can be deadly for crews working the scene. On this night, Shumway's crews were being trained by veteran firefighter Bill Clossen, retired Deputy Chief of the East St. Louis Fire Department.

FS supplied the reported 400 gallons of propane used for the training, which an FS employee told us burns at about 4 gallons a minute when the fire is at its maximum. Flames from the burn, which was held near the Pearson Building at Lake Sara, reached as high as 50-feet into the air, according to Shumway Battalion Chief Johnathon Paholke.

Below is video we shot from the burn, also available on our You Tube Channel.