Still, the training exercises conducted in the crowded upstairs rooms of the Alpena public safety storage building on Wednesday left firefighters panting, hearts pounding, sucking in air after a real-life scenario gave them a taste of what they might encounter while saving property and lives.

Completing a six-week training regime, Alpena firefighters in full gear — seeing only dim light though the wads of wax paper tucked inside their masks — crawled, shimmied, and groaned their way through an obstacle-laden course, following a fire hose 180 feet through simulated danger and very real stress.

Tight tunnels simulating a fallen ceiling, 18-by-22-inch holes in the wall through which to squeeze, enclosed 90-degree corners nearly impossible to belly-crawl with an air pack on the back, and the dreaded entanglement box gave firefighters a full workout, physically and psychologically.

“It’s a mental thing,” said Rob Edmonds, training officer for the department, detailing the anxiety firefighters face when rescuing others — or themselves — from a dangerous situation.

News Photo by Julie Riddle A firefighter squeezes through a tight space during training at the Public Safety Building in Alpena on Wednesday.

Several firefighters had to pause, breathing and fighting back claustrophobia, before entering the entanglement box, a wooden, crawl-through box laced with wires designed to trap and ensnare firefighters, and probably the most feared part of the course, Edmonds said.

It’s frightening, but they need to know how to get themselves out of it, Edmonds said. All of the elements of the course are based on actual line-of-duty deaths, like the firefighter killed at a burning shopping mall when he became entangled in a clothes rack.

As they followed the hose, crawling to stay below smoke, feeling their way in the dark, stopping to heave breaths and steel themselves for the next challenge, the firefighters were cheered on by their co-workers, those who had completed the course and knew the mental toll it was taking.

“You’re in the homestretch now, bud,” one encouraged, as his teammate sucked in air with a whimper, deep in a black tunnel. “Dude, you are right there.”

The training, though mentally and physically draining, is potentially life-saving, said firefighter/paramedic Dean Rivard, still breathing heavily after his trip through the course.

Practice now helps combat panic later. In a real situation, Rivard said, with real lives on the line, “You’ve got to stay calm. You’ve got to stay cool.”

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693, jriddle@thealpenanews.com or on Twitter @jriddleX.