It's no easy task to put out a blaze like this one, especially when a guy like Mitch Ward is calling the shots. Ward's job is to tantalize and train firefighters to attack a fire in every way possible. This particular day, he was teaching the men and women that even though the exercise was only practice, it felt real.

"I basically work them," Ward said. "I lure them upstairs and then light the fire beneath them and make them chase the fire."

Firefighters—no matter how experienced—participate in continual activities to fine-tune their skills and prepare for the smallest or largest of emergencies. Training is part of their daily routine, which also includes everything from responding to calls and inspecting fire extinguishers to watching training tapes and participating in community service.

It's true that Santa Clara County firefighters, including those at the University Avenue fire station in Los Gatos, have their big-screen televisions, oversized refrigerators, recliners, barbecues and personal gyms. But they don't just sit around the firehouse all day, kicking back and relaxing. They're also often involved in some dangerous, high-risk training sessions.

One of the recent exercises for county firefighters was at NorthTree Fire International's mobile burn trailer, which arrived at the Sunnyoaks station in Campbell a few months ago.

"You're either a firefighter or you're not," Ward said. "There's no in between. It takes a real unusual person to go into a fire-fed propane box."

NorthTree is a broad-based company that specializes in difficult tasks, whose staff members contract out their resources and skills, and in this case, arrived with a teaching tool. NorthTree's 48-foot-long semitrailer was two stories high and featured three rooms and a hall.

It was a realistic version of the inside of a home that could be set on fire in various ways and operated from a secure control room. The observation area allowed firefighters' superiors to evaluate their effectiveness, communication and hand signals and monitor if they were doing anything unsafe.

Ward, NorthTree's manager of education and training, said interior temperatures of the trailer can reach upwards of 1,000 degrees, and he can create zero visibility with the touch of a button. The craziest part, he said laughing, is that the exercise is actually a fun reward for the crews to show off their skills.

Upon attacking the trailer, firefighters can be faced with a kitchen scenario that resembles a hazardous materials lab or even child and adult mannequins trapped upstairs that must be carried down a ladder off the roof. They can also be confronted with the most perilous configuration—having only one exit and entry.

Firefighters were reminded to go up the trailer's stairs without grabbing the hot metal handrails, which can cause third-degree burns. They had to search every room before leaving it and stay together as a team.

Firefighters are also taught to go upstairs without treading on the middle or weakest part of the step, said Harry Abbott, county fire's lead training instructor. In addition, they whistle to each other if low on oxygen and have a chirping device attached to them that would sound if they were to stop moving in a smoke-filled room.

Each engine company and the volunteer firefighters in the county fire department took their turn inside the trailer in two- or three-person teams, with a backup team waiting as a precaution. Despite the already scorching hot day, the firefighters wore a heavy array of top-of-the-line protective gear, including helmets, flashlights, goggles, boots, masks and air packs to prepare themselves for the gas jets, steam, intense humidity and heat.

Ward said a group of four can put out the fire in about 15 minutes, but "it would be much longer in an actual structure fire." Ward said Santa Clara County is one of the best fire departments in the state, adding that good departments like this one train every day.

"I think it is attitude. Their training officers are very strict, and they have high standards," Ward said. "We get to see the camaraderie amongst them."

When Engine 3, carrying a search and rescue team from Los Gatos, arrived on-site, its members were running—treating the blazing trailer like a real 911 call. But before they entered the trailer, they were evaluating its entries and exits and the scenario that an adult dummy was trapped inside. Ward said the typical ratio is 12 firefighters, or three teams, to locate one person and get that person out, depending on the house or building size. Victims are often found trying to escape, near a door.

After successfully putting out the fire and carrying the pretend victim down a ladder, the firefighters quickly stripped off their helmets and equipment, chugging water to keep hydrated and inhaling the fresh air.

"At the academy, if they are caught without a water bottle, they are given a written citation," said Capt. Steve Franklin, referring to new firefighting recruits. "We take it pretty seriously."

But not all days as a firefighter are spent training like that one.

In early July, 12 new recruits in the Joint Fire Academy encountered what for many was their first wildland fire. The controlled 8-acre blaze was intentionally set on a portion of the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve called Rancho de Guadalupe, off Hicks Road in Los Gatos. The intent of the exercise was to eliminate flammable grasses and brush that could pose a threat to nearby homes.

"The chance to see live fire is invaluable," said Gordon Baillie, with Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, which maintains the open space preserve.

The fire vicinity was marked by "blacklining," Baillie said, which is a thin, burnt line that defines the perimeter of the space that needs to be torched. The fire seared the grass and brush until it reached the black areas, offering a safe but very real fire for the recruits to practice on repetitively.

The recruits were challenged with a mobile attack "pump and roll" drill, where water was pumped from a fire patrol vehicle that was rolled forward to put out the fire, explained Capt. Dave Stocks. They also practiced "a progressive hose lay," where a hosepipe coming from a stationary vehicle was added to with additional hose lengths to make the overall hose longer. This allowed the firefighters to advance and put out the blaze.

"It's very serious," said Michael Newburn, area superintendent and safety officer with Midpeninsula Open Space. "It's good training. Some of these folks have never seen live fire before, and this is their opportunity to do that."

There are three basic components—also known as a triangle—Baillie said, that compose fire: heat, oxygen and fuel.

"Basically, you want to break one of the legs of the triangle to put out a fire," he said.

Newburn explained the recruits weren't fighting the head of the fire; rather, they were targeting its left and right flanks. They were also responsible for "mop-up" of the scene, aided by hand tools, to prevent the fire from rekindling.

Spencer Robbins and Jeff Doss were two of the rookies who had their first experience with wildland fire. They said the hands-on activity was a great way to get their feet both "wet and hot" on the road to becoming firefighters. The common mistakes they learned from included those involving shifting winds and the need to communicate better with team members.

Frank Arnerich, the county's deputy chief of training, said the 12 weeks and 400 hours of basic training covered a broad range of topics before recruits were assigned to fire stations. The group was exposed to structural fire fighting, flammable gas, hazardous materials, search and rescue, and skills involving ladders, hoses, chain saws and axes.

"They are teaching us the right way to do it," Robbins said. "They are not trying to fail us out."

Robbins and Doss said they also learned from small mistakes, such as not being careful when approaching an unburned area, which can catch fire around a firefighter. Robbins also jokingly said the recruits had the opportunity to do a lot of "choking on smoke."

"It's always nice to see new folks in the constant renewal process," said department Fire Chief Ben Lopes.

The new firefighters, still on a one-year probationary period, are now serving in Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Campbell, San Jose, Morgan Hill, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. The county fire department also provides protection for the unincorporated areas adjacent to these locations.

The wildland fire was overseen by officials within the Santa Clara County Fire Department, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and members of Sunnyvale's Department of Public Safety along with the city of Palo Alto's park rangers and a wildland brush rig. These agencies would normally all work together in a real fire.

The University Avenue station holds a handful of its own local heroes. They are veterans who have served as far away as the Southern California fires and as near as blocks from their station.

Capt. Tony Balsa said that some of the crew members based at the University Avenue station have been working together more than 20 years. Combining all of their service adds up to more than 265 years.

The men and women—who serve ten 24-hour shifts a month—are up and at work by 8 a.m. Their days are spent training, inspecting and preventing fires. And even though evenings are intended to be firefighters' time to relax, if the alarm rings in the station, Balsa said free time is over.

"It sounds like a submarine about to dive," Balsa said. "We used to have bells, but they just about give you a heart attack."

The firefighters, assigned to rotating shifts known as A, B and C, usually eat lunch and dinner together, taking turns cooking. Meals are normally a joking, laid-back time, and the station has a cozy feel to it after a recent remodel.

Newly hired firefighter Brook Hardy frequently gets assigned to duties such as cleaning the engines or "rigs" and even the bathrooms, but they are duties all firefighters have to do.

"You don't sit around anymore," Balsa said. "This is basically one-third of our lives. You can't go home."

Teresa Meisenbach has been a firefighter for 23 years, based at the University Avenue station, which was formerly located on Tait Avenue where there's now a museum. Over dinner, she explained that being a firefighter is complex and competitive. There are application and screening tests, a written exam, civil service exam, and physical agility tests, among others.

There are 16 active stations that compose the Santa Clara County Central Fire Protection District, now known as the Santa Clara County Fire Department. Four of those stations are located in Los Gatos: 306 University Ave., 16565 Shannon Road, 14800 Winchester Blvd. and the Redwood Station at 21452 Madrone Ave., and there's also the Quito station at 18870 Saratoga­Los Gatos Road in Monte Sereno.

Some of the firefighters rotate between stations, so it's really considered one huge department, but there are still others who are permanently positioned at certain stations. They are trained in wildland fires; fire prevention; rescue and special operations; rapid intervention; weapons of mass destruction; small space confinement; constant emergency medical technician and cardiopulmonary resuscitation education and certification; and water-pumping drills, to name a few.

That particular evening, Meisenbach and the rest of the C shift were celebrating firefighter Bruce Ingle's 49th birthday over dinner, with jazz music playing in the background. Ingle has been a firefighter for 25 years and is the most senior of the station. He said much of his days is spent inspecting homes up in the Los Gatos mountains, making sure limbs are kept away from chimneys, checking clearance room around houses and looking for proper, visible street addresses.

"Being in one spot for a long time, you become a part of the community," said Bob Olson, who has 24 years of firefighting service. Olson added they often give tours of the station, visit local schools, attend community events and participate every year in the holiday parade and Christmas-tree lighting.

"This station is very close—both on and off duty," Meisenbach said.

Olson also said that even though they don't have a Dalmatian, they do have a family of squirrels living in a tree on the back patio.

Los Gatos firefighters can be seen driving around town, servicing fire hydrants and inspecting businesses or loading up on groceries at Safeway when they're not on duty. But what they especially love is sitting out in front of the station and talking to folks who walk through the neighborhood.

Ingle said he couldn't think of a nicer place to work, even though sometimes his work can heat up in a hurry.