On a blustery morning in Dayton, Ohio, eight firefighters from around the country stand in front of a 20-foot concrete cylinder with the words "BELL TOWER" spray-painted on the front. They're here for a search and rescue training course.

Instructor Grant Light holds up a blowtorch. "You're going inside, and make a cut," he explains, gesturing to the concrete cylinder. "Confined space cutting."

A 6-foot-6-inch trainee from Virginia steps forward. "So, I'm going into the hole?" he asks, incredulously, pointing at a narrow-looking slot in the side of the tower. "Oh yeah!" Light says cheerfully.

Ryan Kellman / NPR / NPR

The trainee looks dubiously at the opening and then stoops over, wiggling, grunting and cursing under his breath as he squeezes into the darkness with the torch.

The

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