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Eric Wheaton | Firefighter Training • Fitness • Life

@ericwheaton.61

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Training for life’s adventures as a husband, father of 3 & professional firefighter.
CEO- @vententersearch_com
FAMILY•FITNESS•FIRE

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🔥 NOW BOOKING 2027! 🔥

2026 has been one hell of a year for VentEnterSearch and we’re not done yet.

With the rest of our 2026 schedule packed with stops across the country, we’re officially booking fire departments and conferences for 2027.

If you’re looking to bring hands-on training to your department, we’d love to come train with your crews.

Our programs include:

🔥 Can Confidence – Searching for Life & Fire
🪜 Aerial Operations
🚪 Keys to the City – Forcible Entry
🔎 The Search
🪟 VES – The Safest Form of Travel
🚒 Truck Company Operations
…and more.

We offer H.O.T. programs, lectures, and customizable private training built around your department’s needs.

📆 2027 dates are already booking. Don’t wait to get your department or conference on the schedule.

🌐 VentEnterSearch.com
📧 eric@vententersearch.com

#vententersearch taken in USA by @ericwheaton.61

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2 months ago

Experiential based Learning…
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Put your people in situations where they have to make decisions; that’s what real life looks like.
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It’s hard for the body to go where the brain hasn’t been.

#VentEnterSearch #CanConfidence #InsideOut #VES #AerialOperations #KeysToTheCity #QuickTips #ForcibleEntry #Firefighter #FirefighterTips #Training #FirefighterTraining #Drill #Locks #TTL #ThroughTheLock #Entry #Search #Fireman #Tips #WaterCan #Fire #ForceTheDoor #FireEngineering #FDIC #HowTo #Ladder #Fitness #Motivation taken in Casper, Wyoming by @ericwheaton.61

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2 years ago

Step into my world.
🌎
Please don’t take these beautiful things that I got.. by @ericwheaton.61

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2 years ago

In the chaotic moments of a structure fire, civilians’ odds of survival increase dramatically when firefighters combine rapid search efforts with early fire suppression simultaneously. ⁠
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Simply put, victims trapped by fire need search and suppression working together, carried out by two separate companies. Yet, amid the sophisticated array of tools and tactics in the modern fire service, one of the most potent lifesaving instruments is often overlooked: the humble 2½-gallon water extinguisher, better known as the water can.⁠
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Standard issue on nearly every fire apparatus, the water can is frequently underused, perhaps even dismissed as too simple to make a real impact. “It’s too heavy. We are too short-staffed. It can’t extinguish.” ⁠
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These are some of the excuses firefighters use not to search with the water can. But when a well-trained search team puts it to work, this modest tool becomes a powerful force multiplier, especially when paired with isolation of the fire room door. Using it the right way means firefighters can quickly knock back fire conditions, protect civilian and firefighter life, and buy crucial time for the advancing attack line. It all comes down to mastering three core actions: locate, coordinate, and isolate.⁠
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Read more from Eric Wheaton at the link in our bio by @ericwheaton.61

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2 days ago

So others can make the search 💦🚪 🔥 by @ericwheaton.61

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3 days ago

Spicy door work 🌶️ taken in Fargo, North Dakota by @ericwheaton.61

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5 days ago

This is my kind of nightlife. 🌓

⛺️ @lonepeakoverland

#AnchorDownAdventures taken in Jonathan Dickinson State Park River Campground by @ericwheaton.61

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8 days ago

Mechanics➡️Consistency➡️Intensity

Running lines and forcing doors.

#WPFD taken in Winter Park, Florida by @ericwheaton.61

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10 days ago

July 13–14, 2026

John Muir Trail | Days 17 & 18

Miles: 0

Home.

I barely slept that first night off trail. I was still coming down from everything- the high of hiking over 200 miles, the decision to stop, and how quickly it ended.

We caught a bus to Reno. Six hours up Highway 395 with the Sierra outside the window the entire ride.

I was pretty down all day, but at the same time, I couldn’t wait to see my family.

Then the same storm we came off trail to avoid delayed our flight 3.5 hours. We made it to Phoenix but missed our connection, found a hotel, got about three hours of sleep, and tried again the next morning.

There was one thing weighing on me through all of this.

Before I left, Katalina asked me to bring her home a small rock from the top of Mt. Whitney, the southern terminus.

She reminded me about that rock many times when we checked in through my satellite device. During some really low points on trail, getting her that rock helped push me forward.

On that final day, it almost convinced me to push through a lightning forecast I knew wasn’t safe.

When we decided to come off trail, I had to tell her I wasn’t bringing her rock home.

Instead, I made her a promise.

She’s coming back with me.

We’re going to hike those final 30 miles together, summit Mt. Whitney, and she can pick out her own rock.

On July 14, we finally flew home.

At the Orlando terminal I saw my truck coming toward me, then my three kids hanging out the windows holding homemade signs:

“Welcome Home Daddy.”

That was it.

Seeing Natasha and my kids was all I needed.

On the drive home, I talked a little about the trail, but mostly I wanted to hear about them and the chunk of their summer I had missed.

11 years dreaming about this trail.

More than a year preparing.

Over 200 miles walking it.

And suddenly, I was home.

I don’t know yet how I feel about everything that happened out there. It’ll take some time to process.

The JMT isn’t finished yet.

There are still 30 miles, one summit, and my little girl’s rock waiting for us.

But right now, that can wait.

I’m home. taken in John Muir Trail by @ericwheaton.61

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13 days ago

Weekend camping trip to Rainbow River State Park.

Spent the weekend camping and tubing the river. Definitely a good weekend! taken in Rainbow River Florida by @ericwheaton.61

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13 days ago

Final day in West Fargo, North Dakota. 🤘

Can Confidence – Searching for Life & Fire with the West Fargo Fire Department.

The burns were fantastic! 🔥

SPONSORS & SUPPORTERS:
@firedexppe
@ignitedecon
@leatherheadconcepts
@pelicanhydration
@vanguardsafetywear
@goruck
@train_ftw
@capitalcityindustriesllc

#VentEnterSearch
#CanConfidence taken in Fargo, North Dakota by @ericwheaton.61

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14 days ago

Day 1 in West Fargo, North Dakota. 🤘

Can Confidence – Searching for Life & Fire with the West Fargo Fire Department.

One more day tomorrow! 🔥

SPONSORS & SUPPORTERS:
@firedexppe
@ignitedecon
@leatherheadconcepts
@pelicanhydration
@vanguardsafetywear
@goruck
@train_ftw
@capitalcityindustriesllc

#VentEnterSearch
#CanConfidence by @ericwheaton.61

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15 days ago