Dry run: Salinas firefighters forego water during training

The Salinas Fire Department is set to graduate its first class of recruits in three years. What’s significant about this class is how they’re training.

The fire academy is just as challenging as it is creative. Fire captains took a hard look at where they could save water during the 18-week course, and they only used it for a few days.

“When my academy went through ten years ago, it just wasn’t a thought,” Salinas Fire Captain Cary Lesch said. “We weren’t in a drought season. We hooked up our lines, we went to work.”

Recruit Jason Alaga said he didn’t expect to be training without water most of the time.

“The drought has put a hinder on it, but it’s something that we can’t really avoid,” Alaga said.

In total, Lesch said the department saved several thousand gallons of water.

When they did use water, the recruits recycled it. The department has a sump pump system that sucks up water into an underground holding tank, where the water can be re-used for other training exercises.

Captain Lesch said the recruits’ training is not being sacrificed.

“We will never ever take away from their training,” Lesch said. “It’s not fair to the citizens, it’s not fair to them.”

The eight recruits will graduate on Feb. 13. They start work on Feb. 15.