Where there’s smoke, there’s fire
Firefighters receive training in flashover fires
Some residents may have noticed smoke in the air of north Lethbridge over the last few days, which could be due to the new training simulator at the Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services training facility.
The simulator helps firefighters recognize dangerous smoke and fire patterns using specialized fuels found in standard structure fires, which could result in a flashover fire. A flashover fire is when fuels are sitting in the smoke of the fire and heat up to the point of combustion where fire is surrounding the firefighter and can lead to death.
“It simulates these fire conditions that we would normally see when we go into a structure fire which could be hazardous to the life of a firefighter,” says Gerrit Snike, Deputy Chief of Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services. “It is essential for our firefighters to see that. Normally we burn propane and propane is good for training, but it doesn't perfectly simulate what a firefighter might actually see inside of a burning building because it is not propane that is on fire inside of a building.”
Inside a sea-shipping container, groups of firefighters get to watch fuels being released and heated to the point of a full flashover while being at a safe distance to observe and identify the different stages and identifiers of smoke.
“They can learn to read smoke, and learn when the fire heats up that they actually get to a point of flashover which is when the smoke actually starts to catch fire,” says Snike. “Each group that goes through the container, goes through three different burns inside of it. Each single burn they are able to see the fire start, see it slowly grow, and as heat rises in the container they are able to see the fire come to the point of flashover.”
The simulator was brought to Lethbridge in conjunction with the Regional Firefighting Conference in the city this weekend, and fire services saw it as a good opportunity to allow the local firefighters get better training with flashover fires.
Throughout the week, 18 Lethbridge firefighters went through the simulator and 24 regional firefighters from Coaldale, Taber, and Picture Butte came into the city to improve their smoke and fire identifying skills.
“Flashovers are very deadly so we need them to be able to recognize that exact moment and identify it,” says Snike. “We want to make sure that our staff is trained to the highest level that we can possibly obtain so that we can ensure that the citizens of Lethbridge and area are as safe as they can be, and our staff as well. It is important to us that they are well trained so that they can go home at the end of the day to their families.”
Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services say they have no immediate plans to bring the simulator back to the city, but they will be collecting feedback from those who went through the simulator to see if it was something effective and beneficial for future training sessions.
The training exercise uses specialized fuels to ensure the smoke generated is not harmful to the health of residents or to the environment.
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