North County Regional Fire Chief John Cermak had a vision — a vision many, even his closest colleagues, called crazy at first. He wanted to create a training program in Snohomish County that would serve all firefighters in the region. His idea included a place to hold live fire demonstrations, classes and gatherings between fire districts. “I recognized the need to improve our training,” Cermak said. Cermak’s dream came from a desire to train firefighters together — creating a cohesive, robust system that would help the entire county respond better to disaster. “When you train together, you'll find out that firefighters across the nation are firefighters ... the same everywhere,” he said. “One puts their boot on the left foot first and the other puts the right boot on first, but you find out we all have strengths and weaknesses.”