Ten Berwyn residents experienced life as a firefighter firsthand Saturday. 4/25

As members of the fourth annual Citizens Fire Academy, the residents gathered at a burn tower behind the Cicero fire station, 5410 34th St., to put out live, controlled fires.

“You don’t know what to expect,” academy member Larry Powers said, recalling his thoughts moments before entering the burning building.

As firefighters stationed throughout the building lit fires, academy members in full gear grabbed a fire hose and lined up outside in anticipation of entering the burning structure. Smoke billowed out when the door opened and the academy members dropped to their knees, cautiously crawling into the dark space. They were blasted with temperatures above 800 degrees.

“We try to give them live scenarios but that’s only a small shot,” firefighter Rob Pilch said. “Sometimes we’ll enter homes that are 1,400-plus.”

Minutes later, the members walked out of the building, exhausted but exhilarated by completing the job. For many, the experience provided a glimpse of the day-to-day dangers facing firefighters.

“Everybody likes to think of themselves as a hero,” said academy member John MCarthy. “But as soon as you walk into that situation, the only thing you can think about is getting you and your buddies the hell out of there.”

The fire academy began four years ago and has since graduated 45 citizens, with 15 in each class. Fire Chief Denis O’Halloran, who helped design the program, said the academy was created to help garner community support and promote fire safety.

“It’s been very successful,” O’Halloran said. “We’ve been teaching a lot of citizens and getting a lot of support from the citizens, which is the goal of this.”

The academy consists of a 10-week course where residents learn fire safety, become certified in first aid and CPR, ride along on fire calls, and learn how to handle fire equipment. They also simulate extracting a patient from a vehicle and dealing with a hazardous material call. All training sessions are staffed by volunteers from Berwyn Fire Fighters Local 506. The firefighters’ volunteerism won the city the Governor’s Hometown award last year.

“Without their help, this project would not be successful,” O’Halloran said of the volunteers.

The course culminates in the live burn, where the residents are required to put all their recently learned knowledge to use as they search for the fire, extinguish it, and work to get everyone out safely.

“We realize people aren’t ready for this,” Lt. Tony Laureto said. “They’ve gone through nine weeks of some training, but this is the hardest part — getting used to breathing with an air pack on and trusting your equipment.”

Just as in real life, safety is always the first consideration, Laureto said. Each citizen manning the hose is accompanied by a firefighter and more firefighters are stationed within the tower.

“There’s firemen all over,” Laureto said. “If there’s a mayday, the fireman will go to them and get them out.”