Ravenna firefighter/paramedic Zach Thomas, 24, is now the first Ohioan to complete the rigorous, nearly week-long Indiana Smoke Divers advanced training course, a program only the toughest firefighters can achieve.
A certified Indiana Smoke Diver is a firefighter who has received advanced firefighter training, which enables them to make critical decisions and helps them to be more adaptable in high-stress environments, like smoke-filled structures. The course is like Navy SEAL training, but for firefighters.
Thomas has been with the Ravenna Fire Department over two and a half years and is the first participant in Ohio to successfully graduate from the Indiana Smoke Divers program. He feels that becoming a certified Indiana Smoke Diver will benefit his department.
“The main thing is I hope I’m setting an example for everyone here [at the department] and that the hard work that we do will pay off. A lot of the training that I got there I’m able to bring back here and share to make us a more effective, safer department,” Thomas said.
The non-profit Indiana Smoke Diver Association formed in 2011 and began offering a certification program in 2013. It’s largely influenced by the Georgia Smoke Divers program that was started in the ’80s. Several states now offer smoke diver certification programs.
Thomas was initially planning to take the course in 2024, but due to limited enrollment, he was rejected.
“It is a very hard class to get into. For some people, it takes a couple years to get into the program, to take the assessment test,” Thomas said. “I applied for the first time in September 2023 and I did not get accepted for that go around, for class 10, so, then I applied in September of 2024 and got accepted, and in November I was invited out there to test. We had to do a physical test and a written test, as well, to be able to make it into the class. From there, they only accepted the top percentage from out-of-state and another percentage from in-state.”
The course is a 6-day, 60-hour program designed to challenge the firefighters, both physically and mentally.
“They want to physically exhaust you and then they want to put you through really tough scenarios to essentially replicate bad days on the job. It was a mental battle the whole time to not quit,” Thomas said.
Since its inception in 2013, the Indiana Smoke Divers have had a total of 11 classes with only 138 successful candidates. Of the 54 candidates that Thomas began the class with on March 9, only 14 finished successfully and received the certification and an Indiana Smoke Divers T-shirt.
Indiana Smoke Diver Association President Matt Stewart was certified as a Georgia Smoke Diver in 2006 and said, due to the intensity of the program, it has about a 30-70% attrition rate.
“It’s an extremely tough class, so people who come to it have to be in about as good of physical condition as they’ve ever been in their life. And even saying that, when you work in fire gear for 10, 12-plus hours a day for six days, no matter how good of shape you’re in, you just get exhausted, but you still have to keep going because we have timelines and standards and things like that that the students have to meet,” Stewart said.
The training begins every morning at 7 a.m. with about 30 minutes of physical workouts, where the firefighters are expected to do burpees, mountain climbers, push ups and stretching in full turnout gear, which includes bunker pants, coat, helmet, gloves, hoods, mask and their self-contained breathing apparatus.
“After that, they do an 18-station obstacle course, which is all fire-based: pulling fire hose, carrying packs and fire equipment and hose, lifting hose to the roof, moving mannequins, simulating fire victims, just things like that,” Stewart said. “Then, when they get done with that, they get out of their gear, they get a little break. Then, they go run about three miles. Once they get done with that, that’s kind of their morning.”
Their afternoon training includes, but is not limited to, search practice, fire attack, removing downed firefighters and window bail outs, with an emphasis on victim searching and using thermal imaging cameras, which helps firefighters to see in zero visibility and gives them the ability to identify hot spots.
The training is not for the faint of heart and even experienced firefighters drop out on the first day.
“It really comes down to the individual, and, honestly, it becomes a lot less about firefighting and skills and a lot more about yourself and pushing yourself, having those tough conversations with yourself in those moments that you want to give up and quit,” Stewart said. “The bigger point of the class is to push through those times, and then that makes you more confident, a better person, and it gives you more confidence when you’re leading people. You’ve experienced some of these emotions and tough times in very extreme conditions and training, so then when they revisit you at some point, you already have some familiarity and you know that you can fight and push through.”
The yearly program takes place at a training facility at the Wayne Township Fire Department in Indianapolis and requires 50 to 60 volunteer instructors and support from nearby fire departments to ensure that the program is a success.
Stewart said the facility is set up the same way they would set up for a wildfire, with an incident command system, logistical support and a food unit that provides meals for the firefighters, so they can stay focused on the drills and not have to worry about snacks and meals, filling air bottles or taking care of their gear.
Because of the savage nature of the training, firefighters’ physical and mental well-being are continually observed, with an on-site medical team available in the event of an emergency.
“For injuries, we monitor them medically through urinalysis and EKG, we look at their heart rhythms, to see if they’re struggling. We’ll give them IVs if they need them. We heavily monitor their food intake and their hydration every day. We have a medical staff: we have a doctor that’s our medical director, we have medics on site, and for the days we have live fire, we have a transporting ambulance there, so they’re very medically monitored and taken care of, so if a guy starts cramping, things like that, we already know what’s going on with them, so our docs can put together a treatment program for them,” Stewart said.
The cost for the Indiana Smoke Divers training course included hotel accommodations and was approximately $1,000, which was paid for with the Ravenna Fire Department’s training and education fund provided by the city of Ravenna.
Ravenna Fire Department Chief Mark Chapple sees Thomas’ certification as an Indiana Smoke Diver as a benefit to the department and beyond.
“What he has gone through, he can bring back and basically, train, educate and build confidence in other firefighters, whether they’re senior to him, or junior to him, so it has a lot of benefits to our department as a whole. And not only our department, but county wide,” Chapple said. “I’m very proud of him.”
