- Screenshot from York Dispatch.

Screenshot from York Dispatch.

A new SCBA competency maze will help teach York Township firefighters to navigate small confined spaces with confidence. The Eagle Scout service project of a teen whose grandfather is a retired York City fire chief will teach firefighter trainees to navigate small, obstacle-filled spaces in the dark calmly, and also help seasoned firefighters keep their skills honed, current city Fire Chief Chad Deardorff said to the York Dispatch.

"It's a phenomenal training tool," Deardorff said, adding he'd been thinking about adding one for some time. "We're excited to use it, and we're very appreciative of Max and the other Scouts."

Max Iacono, 16, of York Township, researched and designed the department's new SCBA competency maze. His fellow Scouts from Boy Scout Troop 69 of Jacobus then helped him build the maze, he said — with a big assist from Assistant Scoutmaster Mark Ness, who owns a woodworking shop, and Scoutmaster David Grove.

Max, whose current rank is Life Scout, is the grandson of retired York City Fire Chief David Love and the son of Len and Jessica Iacono. Max's mom is a retired York County 911 dispatcher who in 2011 was named the county's dispatcher of the year.

Housed in the basement training area of the city's Station 9 firehouse at the corner of Roosevelt and Maryland avenues, the wooden maze is 4 feet high and 4 feet wide, built in 8-foot sections. The multiple units are modular so the maze can be reconfigured differently for every training session, and the units' "lids" are on hinges so trainers can see what's going on inside.

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