Firefighter training session

From the Oct. 5, 1956, Hannibal Courier-Post: Two firemen climb a ladder to a height of more than 50 feet with no support but anchor ropes held by other firemen. This is called a "church raise," according to Capt. Jack Smashey, drillmaster for the Hannibal fire department. Local firemen began their fall drill season on Sept. 24, 1956, and will continue through Oct. 12. Another drill season, during the spring of the year, lasts for a like period. The drilling, under Chief Milton Finks and Drillmaster Smashey, starts with rope work, or knot tying, and progresses through rescue training, ladder operations, hose operations, the use of pumps to boost the amount of water run through the hoses. Next week, the men start pumper training, handling of hoses with 50 or more pounds of pressure on the nozzle tip. This includes laying of hoses in different combinations, calculation of friction loss to estimate amount of pressure needed on the pumps to get the proper pressure on the hose tip, and practice on handling various types of nozzles and nozzles with pressure on. From left, Assistant Fire Chief Harvey Clancy, Station No. 2, Jack Smashey, drillmaster; Lewis L. David, mechanic; Clark Bush, driver at Station No. 2; Delmar McClain, Dirver Station No. 1; John McCann, driver station No. 3; and on top of the ladder, Charley Sitton, captain, Station No. 3. OTIS HOWELL PHOTO/HANNIBAL COURIER-POST ARCHIVES VIA HANNIBAL FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY