Being prepared

Monday at approximately 7 p.m., members of the Hartington Volunteer Fire Department and EMS Squad were surprised with a mock house fire drill. The training consisted of saving three victims (dummies) from a simulated live-action fire in an abandoned house southwest of Hartington. Following the drill, the firemen and EMS teams returned to the fire hall, cleaned and organized the equipment for the next call, and had their regularly scheduled meeting, leaving the hall around 10:45 p.m. The next call came sooner than expected, with the fire whistles blowing at 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, for a controlled CRP burn east of Hartington that got out of control. The department’s training and preparation quickly showed as they brought the fire under control in short time.