WINTER 2000
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In this issue • Task force takes on youth and family issues • Des Moines Initiative offers new learning opportunities • Fight fire with fire -- for better firefighter training • Journey into new agriculture ventures • CIRAS works on quality control in agriculture • "Speaking of skin cancer" -- A cooperative success • Conferences examine transitions in agriculture
Previous issues |
Fight fire with fire -- for better firefighter training Iowa State University Extension's Fire Service Institute is going to start fighting fire with fire. The institute has a new training unit that will allow firefighters to train in a real structural fire, said director Richard Arwood. The two-story trailer will simulate a "flashover" situation. "When a fire begins and is left unattacked, it will achieve a point where all hot air is rising," Arwood said. "The smoke is flammable and if left unattended it will ignite."
Arwood said flashover can occur in four to five seconds and can achieve temperatures of 1,400 F. The clothing firefighters wear will sustain about 800 F for a brief amount of time. "You hope to get to the fire scene before flashover, but it doesn't normally happen in rural communities," he said. The Fire Service Institute will use the simulator to teach firefighters how to attack interior structural fires, how to prevent and survive a flashover situation, and how to attack interior fires of higher and lower levels of structures, Arwood said. The training unit allows for a cleaner environment because the fire is fueled by propane, which doesn't leave smoke residue. "It will provide firefighters with realistic opportunities to learn how to fight fire in a controlled, safe environment," he said. The training unit also makes it easier for firefighters to get certification because they have to demonstrate that they've been trained in structural fires before being certified. Arwood said volunteer firefighters don't have to be certified but many choose to be. With a national certificate firefighters can work almost anywhere in the country. Probably the biggest benefit of the trailer is that it will bring the training to the communities. "It is the effort of ISU Extension to provide realistic learning opportunities to firefighters within their own community," Arwood said. "We are promoting localized training so they don't have to leave their community uncovered. "Another benefit to the fire departments is that they will no longer have to rely on acquired structures for training," he added. The Fire Service Institute plans to transport the
training unit to regions of the state after spending about a
month learning how to use it. The trailer will stay in an
area for 10 days while instructors administer training to
local fire departments, Arwood said. |
