FORT FAIRFIELD — Smoke started pouring through the doors, open windows and eaves of the two-story, wood-frame structure. Radios crackled and team leaders barked orders. Firefighters grabbed ladders, hoses, axes and other equipment needed to enter the building and attack the fire from above.

It was practice, practical testing for 47 Maine firefighters who had been in training in the 26-day Maine Fire Training and Education program being held in Fort Fairfield. By the time they complete the 26 sessions, the firefighters will have undergone 40 hours of practical training and 100 hours of workbook training.

By the end of Saturday, five abandoned homes, damaged by the 1994 ice jam and flood along the Aroostook River, were destroyed, burned to the ground in the effort to make better firefighters for towns throughout the state.

Jack Berry was in charge of this year’s training that included 10 days in July and 16 days this month. The latest segment of the program was based at the Northern Maine Technical College at Presque Isle. During the 16 days in Aroostook County, many dilapidated buildings, such as those in Fort Fairfield’s mitigation project, were used as training areas.

Berry said Saturday was a “day to test skills.” The 47 firefighters had gone through materials testing on Friday. Now, they were in full battle gear.

There were brief respites for the men and women weighted down by 40 to 60 pounds of firefighting clothing and gear in 80-degree weather. When their team was not on the firing line, they downed cold drinks and sought shade from the sun.

They were waiting for their next shot at going into a smoke-filled house, looking for victims, removing them from the building and dousing hay-fueled fires inside before clearing the area with powerful, smoke-removing fans. Then it was someone else’s turn.

Berry said firefighters, both full- and part-time personnel, can attain Firefighting I and II levels with the annual training. The training is supported by the Maine State Fire Academy.

Training included classroom instruction and hands-on training in such things as basic firefighting, laying hose, the behavior of fires, and the use of ladders and other equipment.

Berry called the skills development “good, solid practical training.” He said the practical side of the training is “as near to reality as we can make it.”

It seemed so. Firefighters were grimy, soot-blackened and tired once they were done their sessions. Along with training inside the burning buildings, firefighters learned how to refill their own air tanks, ventilate burning buildings, do primary searches for people, and attack fires strategically.