"Allowing our public officials to witness and participate in our drills is invaluable," said Franklin Fire Chief James McLaughlin.

MILFORD - Autumn leaves were flying, and the low, gray sky was spitting cold drizzle when their work began.

Wrapped in pounds of protective turnout gear, the trio prepared to enter a building where an orange fire was blazing so intensely that it sent fingers of invisible heat out into the gloom beyond the open doorway. For a moment, they knelt there, smoky haze filtering around them like a gathering fog, checking that their air packs were functioning properly before closing the door and diving in.

A state legislator, a town administrator and a town councilor.

Watching from the safety of a rain-soaked patch nearby, an observer quipped, "So if something goes wrong, who is in charge?"

The answer: Franklin Fire Capt. Chuck Allen.

On a recent stormy morning, it was Allen who served as a guide for state Rep. Jeffrey Roy, Town Administrator Jamie Hellen and Town Councilor Melanie Hamblen as they worked their way through flames and smoke in the Milford Fire Department's live burn building behind its station on Birch Street.

For Franklin firefighters, it was a chance to freshen up and hone their firefighting skills. For the officials, it was an opportunity to get insight into the dangerous work that firefighters do.

As the Franklin Fire Department embarked on a rejuvenated training protocol, Fire Chief James McLaughlin invited local officials to get an up-close and personal look.

"Allowing our public officials to witness and participate in our drills is invaluable," said McLaughlin, who just joined the department this summer. "They get the opportunity to see the equipment that they provide us with and how it works. More importantly, it allows them to see firsthand what it is like to do the job."

Preparing for their foray into the burning structure, with the chief and his officers helping with gear and equipment, Hellen, Roy and Hamblen traded lighthearted banter. Roy badgered Hellen about arriving for his fire training in a dress shirt and trousers, teasing, "I told you not to wear nice clothes."


He followed with more teasing as Hellen - who did tote a duffel with a change of clothes - worked the closures on a loaned fire coat.

"You know how to clip them!" Roy goaded.

"Hey, I was an Eagle Scout in a past life," Hellen replied.

Meanwhile, Hamblen found herself hopping around trying to get one of her borrowed boots on. McLaughlin stepped in to help.

"This is serious business!" observed Hamblen, who sported a black T-shirt with the word "fearless" on the front. "It's hard to move because you've got all this stuff on."

If she was a real firefighter going to a blaze, she remarked, "The truck has already left because I'm still getting ready."

The remark was met with a tolerant chuckle and a shake of the head from the chief.

All teasing aside, the three officials all took the chance to participate in the training with serious intentions.

Noting he has "always been the one on the outside, watching," Hellen said the experience "gives you a greater appreciation for the bravery, the commitment and the sophistication behind what these folks do."

As an official, the experience is invaluable, he said, because "you understand better the verbiage of their world" - especially when it comes to recommending funding for such things as training, equipment and manpower.

Roy, who previously participated in a similar training in Stow, agreed.

"It reminds me and reinforces for me the importance of the work firefighters do, and the level of danger,"  he said. "I'm usually looking at items on a spreadsheet. When you get out in the field, it makes those numbers jump off the page."

Hamblen said she accepted the chance to participate so that she, as someone in a position to make sure town firefighters have what they need to do their jobs, could also get more insight.

"Anything I can do to understand what these guys go through every day makes me feel more connected to them," she said.

The officials' turn inside the practice building came at the end of a week of training there for Franklin firefighters last week.

During that training, the burn structure is set ablaze from within several times, and firefighters repetitively practice everything from putting on and checking their gear, to laying out water lines so there are no kinks to restrict water flow, clearing nozzles of air before going in, handling hoses as they spurt 150 gallons of water per minute with about 50 pounds of back pressure, knocking down fires and seeking out "victims."

"There are so many little skills involved with firefighter training," fire Capt. Tom Carlucci said.

While firefighters are already highly skilled, he pointed out, "they just need to get refreshed."

Roy said he is working with McLaughlin to identify grant funding to expand training opportunities available to firefighters in Franklin, as well as neighboring towns.

"They're looking for a grant to do a regional burn site like Milford's," said Roy, a Franklin Democrat. "Franklin, Plainville, Wrentham and Norfolk are all doing their dispatch out of the same center. I think it would be ideal if we had (a live burn structure) for that same area."

McLaughlin agreed, saying, "It would be good to have one on the home turf."

"There is no substitute for the actual heat and restricted visibility that live fire training offers," he said. "Consistent training allows our firefighters to be more readily prepared for the real incidents, which allows a safer scene for the civilians involved as well as the safety for the firefighters."

And having the town's officials participate in the training, he said, offers insight that can be gained in no other way.

"The experience of wearing a full set of turnout gear with air pack, feeling the heat of the fire in a confined space and the physical endurance required to advance a charged hose line up several floors was eye-opening to the elected officials," the chief said. "We appreciate the elected officials who could make the training and we plan on offering this at least once a year in the future."

Roy said his latest experience reminded him "that we are lucky to have so many dedicated, professional and brave firefighters that are ready, willing and able to serve in our department. They routinely go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure we are safe. And that’s something for which we are all grateful."

From the perspective of someone who went through training previously, he noted that going through it with his hometown firefighters - many of whom are friends and neighbors - gave it added impact.

"These are friends who risk their lives every time they approach a burning building," Roy said. "It magnified for me the importance of giving them the best equipment and best training opportunities to make sure they are safe in the process of protecting us. Because any harm to them hurts our community."

Hamblen called the experience "amazing."

"It has given me a deeper understanding of what these brave men and women do," she said. "Not only is it difficult to move in all the gear because it restricts movement, it’s really heavy. Watching the fire grow and feeling the heat build with Chuck Allen explaining what was happening was incredible. And then, when the firefighters came through and 'darkened down' the fire, we got to watch how they worked as a team even when it is suddenly dark and smoky. It gives you a greater perspective on how dangerous the job is and how much courage it takes to be a firefighter."

For Hellen, it was a "tremendous" experience he will never forget. Besides getting insight, he said, "my big takeaway is, I realized how much our fire department staff loves what they do. You get that feeling anytime with them, but on site, it’s evident they all love their field, they love their mission and just love what they do as professionals and firefighters."