Live-Fire Training Michael Foster
In today’s economic environment, getting maximum value for your money is imperative. That’s why a lot of fire departments with a tight budget might be inclined to build their own training systems and props.
After all, when you take a simple look at some fire training systems, they just look like shipping containers placed together. Someone adds wood, sets it on fire, and there you go. Training is safely completed. But was it? Was it done safely? Or did we just get lucky again?
Should fire departments build their own fire training system rather than purchasing a fully designed and engineered structured?
Several issues arise when considering a training structure. First and foremost would be liability. We’re going to come back to liability, but let’s consider everything else.
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1402, Standard on Facilities for Fire Training and Associated Props, 2019 Edition, lists a variety of requirements to meet the standard; among them is engineered drawings of any training system.
Firefighter training systems require very specialized structural engineering. They are not like building normal structures since they will be repeatedly exposed to heat, fire, smoke, and much more. Understanding the impact requires an expert structural engineer who’s specifically aware of the stresses for fire training systems.
1 Although it looks like a shipping container, several engineering alterations are made for safe, predictable fire and smoke behavior. (Photos courtesy of Dräger.)
That structural engineering extends to elements one might not consider including the foundation and how the training system is secured. Just because someone knows a welder doesn’t mean the welds are structurally sound.
While from the outside a Swede system live fire training prop looks like an ordinary Class A shipping container, the interior has been significant altered to create fire environments that enhance firefighter training.
How to conduct the required educational components in these systems is outlined in the 2018 Edition of NFPA 1403, Standard on Live Fire Training Evolutions. Generating repeatable, safe evolutions that demonstrate recognizable fire and smoke behavior is paramount for an effective training program. Interiors must be properly engineered for ventilation that allows for the appropriate fire and smoke behavior to occur. For example, learning to recognize the fire and smoke behavior in an eventual flashover and ways to delay or mitigate it requires significant infrastructure in a training system.
Everything burns, and long-term exposure to the heat in metal structures can impact the integrity of the metal. Each training unit where a burn occurs is engineered with proper insulation to endure repeated exposures.
N