Staff with the North Battleford Fire Department are excited by the arrival of a new training mechanism for fires.
The Drager Swede Survival System Phase 1 flashover unit arrived on Tuesday from Alberta. The first training sessions took place Thursday with one instructor and 11 students taking part.
The simulator deals with the most dangerous situation firefighters face on the job: the flashover.
A flashover situation is commonly defined as the sudden ignition of all the combustible material in a room, as intensifying heat in the room causes that exposed material to simultaneously burst into flames within a very short period of time.
The heat goes up to 600º C or more in a flashover. When it happens in a structure fire, it usually is a situation where firefighters cannot survive.
Inside the simulator, flashovers happen in a controlled environment, allowing firefighters to see first-hand how it transpires.
The unit “teaches firefighters about fire behavior, how it flashes over and how we can control that fire,” said Fire Chief Trevor Brice.
“This teaches us how to recognize the signs and symptoms before it happens, and take control of that situation by using water or adding or removing oxygen.”
The portion of the simulator where the controlled burn takes place is located four feet off the ground. The other side is the observation unit at ground level, where firefighters are gathered to view the flashover as it happens right over top of them.
“We can see the way the smoke comes down and the smoke barrier, and how the flames react, and take action as to what to do next,” said Brice.
The instructors inside the unit also have the ability to open the doors to let oxygen in, and close the doors to keep oxygen out. That way, the participants see how the fire reacts. According to Brice, fire expands when it has access to oxygen, while the fire retreats when the supply of oxygen is cut off.
A nozzle is also placed inside the unit to show how water should be used in that situation.
Initially, two days of training took place Thursday and Friday, with a half-dozen flashover simulations happening over those two days.
More training sessions were planned with fire department staff and the intention is to have all their members trained using the simulator.
The department wants its firefighters trained as instructors so they can conduct training sessions in the future. The fire department sees an opportunity to use the new simulator to train other fire departments throughout the region.
The cost was $80,000 towards purchasing the unit as well as the associated training.
It was approved in the 2018 capital budget. In the capital request submitted during those deliberations, the fire department saw the unit as an essential training tool for their group of young firefighters, with 12 of their staff having less than eight years experience.
The department also saw an opportunity to enhance their preparedness for fire situations. Before, the fire department did not have a unit at their disposal to train firefighters on flashovers.
“Now we can teach them that, and that may well change some of our processes and procedures at an incident,” Brice said.
