The Torrance Fire Department ran simultaneous recruit exercises and a mass-casualty incident drill with neighboring agencies, Nicole Nash, a City of Torrance spokeswoman, said.

The training included nine new recruits working in the department’s drill tower and job-related physical training, or JRPT, designed to simulate firefighter tasks in a controlled setting. Nash said the recruits arrived by 5:30 a.m. and completed three tests that started the day’s exercises.

The recruit drills featured hose pulling, tower climbs, flights of stairs, carrying hose packs, use of axes and sledgehammers, and other hands-on work. Nash said turnout gear and equipment worn during the exercises weighed roughly 30 to 80 pounds and that much of the early work consisted of 45-minute warm-ups before longer evolutions.

Separately, the department conducted its annual mass-casualty incident (MCI) training. Nash said the MCI drill, held once or twice a year, helps the department prepare for events that “stretch our resources,” including large traffic accidents, shootings, natural disasters and hazardous-materials incidents.

The MCI scenario included multi-tier patient triage and transport categories such as immediate, delayed and minor. Nash said the department worked with partner agencies in Area G — Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach and El Segundo — to practice coordinating roles and ensuring that patients are moved to hospitals safely and efficiently.

"This stretches our resources and gives us an opportunity to train when we have more than one patient," Nash said. She added the exercises allow responders to learn from mistakes and improve coordination across agencies.

The drills are part of the department’s mutual-aid arrangements, Nash said, noting that partner agencies will assist Torrance on large incidents and Torrance will do the same for them. To learn more, Nash directed residents to torranceca.gov/fire.