Fire training facilities have evolved significantly over the past several years. We have seen a shift away from burn buildings with simple, fixed-location gas props or Class A burn capabilities to facilities capable of more realistic, flexible scenarios. The facilities can now help firefighters train on more advanced concepts such as modern fire attack, flowpath, wind-driven fire and compartment fire behavior. These training facilities are using combinations of Class A and B fires along with more advanced sensors and safety systems. Many of these innovations are the result of leading departments not accepting the status-quo and pushing to advance their training as fast as the fire service is changing.
The risks fire departments are facing around the globe are changing as rapidly as the makeup of their districts. Today’s homes are larger, on smaller lots, with more open spaces than before. Building materials and furnishing materials mean evolving fuel loads. These all combine to result in new hazards such as faster fire propagation, shorter time to flashover and rapid changes in fire dynamics.
BullEx and Haagen, the two brands that make-up the LION Training Resources Group, have partnered with leading departments around the globe to develop training facilities capable of addressing the latest developments in fire tactics that address these risks.
Wind-driven Fires
The research conducted over the past several years on wind-driven fires has significantly increased our understanding of the fire dynamics as well as the tactics that should be considered in wind-driven scenarios. In addition to studying the published body of research, the West Midlands Fire Rescue Service (WMFRS) in the United Kingdom has conducted their own wind-driven fire experiments based on the building construction and architectural styles in their district. With this knowledge, department leaders set-out to build a facility that could be used to train firefighters on high-rise and wind driven fire tactics as well as act as a test facility to continue their tests.
We worked together to develop a training building that was capable of creating a number of wind-driven fire scenarios and also safe enough for firefighter training.
We considered the placement of every window, hallway and door and how instructors could use them to recreate the various common residential and commercial floor plans present in West Midlands. A six-story steel structure was designed with refractory tile-heat shielding to protect the structure from the Class A fires within. Integrated fans allow instructors to create constant or variable prevailing wind conditions. Windows, doors and the active ventilation system are used to recreate various flowpath conditions and ventilation profiles. Trainees can identify and manage the flowpath, while instructors maintain control of the scenarios. Temperature monitoring and a ventilation control system act as a back-up safety system.
The outcome is that trainees can experience first-hand the rapidly changing conditions possible in wind-driven fires and can gain real proficiency by training in highly realistic conditions. The West Midlands has also been able to continue their wind-driven fire research at the facility, which has the capability of logging temperature and wind-condition data.
“High-rise fires can be very complex incidents, and we have very stringent procedures for dealing with them," said Group Commander Jason Campbell, responsible for operational training delivery at WMFRS. "This new facility will let us replicate fire conditions, just like in a real flat or open plan office, but in a controlled and safe environment. Firefighters will use the building to learn the best ways to get in, out and around a high-rise, how best to evacuate and rescue people, and how to get water to the fire itself. This high-rise training facility will make us the leader in the training sector."
Compartment Fire Behavior Training Systems
The Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) in Melbourne, Australia, recently commissioned the Victorian Emergency Management Training Centre, a 24-acre multi-agency training campus with 10 large-scale buildings and over 50 fire scenarios. The majority of the fires are gas-based props built into facilities, which were designed with the State of Victoria’s specific risks in mind. However, a specialized Class A training structure was built for a critical training element, Compartment Fire Behavior Training (CFBT).
CFBT teaches firefighters to utilize fire dynamics to read and understand fire behavior indicators and anticipate fire development. The CFBT concepts also include the tactics firefighters can use to maximize their safety in rapidly changing conditions.
The CFBT uses a Smart Class A System that utilizes a propane burner to ignite class A materials. Once the Class A materials are ignited, the propane is shut down, allowing the fire to grow naturally. The instructors can control the air intakes as well as the exhaust ventilation system, enabling them to create ventilation-limited fires. Remote-controlled openings can be used to create bidirectional and unidirectional flowpaths. Firefighters can observe the neutral boundary and the changing amount of turbulence indicating airflow to and from the fire along the top and bottom of the compartment. Gas cooling can also be demonstrated as well as the basic fire behavior teaching points.
Temperature is continually monitored in the system for safety at the ceiling, firefighter helmet level, and at the floor. If the system approaches an unsafe temperature threshold at any of the thermal layers, the ventilation system is activated and a water deluge system automatically extinguishes the fire simultaneously.
Black smoke emission was an issue for the MFB as the training site is located along a busy highway. An afterburner system that was designed to handle the very challenging exhaust produced by multiple Class A fire operations in multiple compartments was incorporated. Specialized burners and holding chambers were developed to accommodate the rapid change from heavy black smoke to thick steam while maintaining consistent clean-air emissions.
Flexible Training Spaces
A limitation of a traditional fixed training facility is that the fire scenarios and building layouts remain the same year after year. Over time, firefighters become familiar with the floor plans and fire scenarios. This eliminates the element of surprise in training and can lead to complacency.
The City of Tilburg in the Netherlands is constructing a facility designed to keep firefighters challenged by not allowing them to become familiar with the building layouts or even the exterior appearance. Training buildings feature changeable facades to replicate structures with varying uses and building construction. Facades can be changed from day to day to transform the training grounds from a residential neighborhood to a city square to a movie theater. The interiors of the training buildings can be reconfigured as well with movable doors and walls to create a wide range of floor plans. Trainees must take the building use and construction into account in their size-up and change their tactics accordingly.
In the long-term, the steel modules that make up the training buildings can be rotated out or replaced all together at minimal cost relative to redeveloping an entire training building. The steel modules are each 8 feet in height and vary from 360 square feet to just under 1,000 square feet. Gas-based fire props, smoke generation, ventilation and safety systems are built-in to the modules. Ultimately, this concept will enable Tilburg to dramatically increase the flexibility of its training grounds and will allow training to evolve with the growth of the response area, all while managing long-term costs.
Digital Fire Technology
Digital fire technology, while relatively new in the market, has been used over the past few years in a variety of training structures around the world. Digital technology uses LEDs to recreate flames and their patterns. Thermal sensors detect the application of a hoseline or a digital hoseline. Sound and training smoke add realism to immerse firefighters in the training environment.
Digital technology is well suited for training on initial fire attack, search and rescue, practicing stream patterns, water placement, and hose line management. Digital technology is intended to be a supplement to live-fire training. It is especially useful for training new firefighters. Globally, we find that digital technology is in high demand for departments without the budget for new constructions and for departments in areas with strict environmental restrictions.
Carmel Fire Department in Indiana has employed digital fire technology to enhance training scenarios in acquired structures. They have used digital fires to simulate bread-butter-fires for training on the fundamentals, advancing hoselines, search and rescue, coordinated fire attack, water application and nozzle technique among others. They have also used digital fire to add the element of fire to RIT and firefighter survival drills. Forcing firefighters to identify and confine the fire during the drills adds another level of realism and requires firefighters to not lose sight of the fact that these critical operations are happening within an active structure fire.
Digital fire allows Carmel to practice VEIS by isolating the room from the fire in the adjacent hallway. They have also trained on the tactics of higher-level training such as transitional attack. They have mounted the digital fire panels in windows and openings for firefighters to hit from the exterior before transitioning inside the structure to continue fighting the fire. The flexibility of these digital fire panels also allows Carmel to put the S.L.I.C.E. – R.S. concept into practice in training.
“In the past, we used our acquired structures for live burns, or for what we called simulated live burns. We would shine a light in a container. Clearly, that wasn’t very realistic, and we would often lose sight of the light when the simulated smoke became thick and dense," Carmel Director of Training Jim Buttler said.
"Now that we no longer do complete burns in acquired structures, the digital fire has been so beneficial to us. The realism of the system has been a positive aspect for our trainees. The ability to hit the digital panels with a real hoseline and the ability to adjust the difficulty level for new or advanced firefighters has really enhanced our training. As an instructor, the set up and clean up time allows me to train multiple companies in one session and allows me to conduct far more evolutions than we ever did before. I like that the potential risk of injury is so much lower with the digital systems. It has really changed the way we train, and I look forward to creating even more training scenarios for my firefighters."
Training Now and in the Future
During each conversation on planning and designing a training site, departments around the globe have similar concerns—how to train their firefighters on the risks in their community most efficiently. Whether that means employing new types of construction or new technology, thinking ahead will help position your training structure for enduring success. By incorporating the latest technology and techniques, you’ll be enhancing the skills of your current and future firefighters, and preparing them to protect your community for years to come.
RYAN O'DONNELL is the founder and president emeritus of BullEx. Today he serves as the company’s vice president of strategy and business development. He serves on the NFPA Fire Service Training Committee and holds numerous patents for firefighter training equipment. Prior to founding BullEx, O’Donnell was a chief officer and training officer in the fire service responsible for developing fire prevention programs, overseeing training operations, and acting as an incident commander at emergency scenes.
