MUSCATINE, Iowa – If you have ever fed a few quarters into a claw machine, lined up the perfect shot, dropped the claw and watched it come back empty, you already understand the challenge Muscatine firefighters faced during a recent training exercise.
On Friday at Muscatine Fire Station One, members of the Muscatine Fire Department turned aerial ladder training into a full-blown game of skill. The goal was to practice precise control of Truck 310’s aerial ladder, but with a twist.
To make the drill both fun and competitive, firefighters were tasked with placing an orange cone attached beneath the ladder bucket onto three stationary cones positioned at different heights around the station. Targets included the top of the training tower, the basketball hoop in the alley, and a corner of the station roof.
Each firefighter took a turn maneuvering the aerial ladder with the care and accuracy normally reserved for real emergency scenes, attempting to gently set their cone atop each target without knocking anything over.
“When operating the aerial during a structure fire, you need the experience to place that ladder exactly where it needs to be — quickly and safely,” Fire Chief Mike Hartman said. “Turning the drill into a game makes the learning more enjoyable for the operator and for everyone cheering from the ground.”
Most participants successfully completed all three placements, proving that even a high-stakes skill can benefit from a little friendly competition.
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