Trailer as a Training Facility
The Farmingville (NY) Volunteer Fire Department established a training committee in January 1991 to develop a program that would provide hands-on training to reflect our SOPs for probationary firefighters. Probationary firefighters are required to attend the county’s basic firefighter course during their probationary period and are given a certificate of training at the end of the course. They also must attend classes on private dwelling, taxpayer, and other fireground operations at the county training center. Budgetary cutbacks, however, have caused the training center to reduce the training dates alloted to our department by half. The training committee was formed by Chief Robert Pietras to ensure that the department’s probationary firefighters would receive the training required for upgrading to the firefighter level.
(Photos courtesy of Farmingville Fire Department.
The committee, which consisted of five ^department members, developed lesson plans and training reports for the subjects to be taught and purchased reference ‘materials for the instructors and a rescue dummy for search and rescue classes during the first year. The training course ^ran for six months, and a certificate of training was awarded to the students who successfully completed the course.
‘TRAINING FACILITY
In January 1992, a local trucking company donated a 31-foot trailer to our department. A colleague and I designed a search trainer for the trailer. We incorporated concepts I encountered while attending die Air Force Fire Rescue School in 1989. Our objectives were to create a training atmosphere that could be adapted for various activities and to teach students to rely on proper search techniques instead of trying to memorize the layout of the search trainer during the search and rescue training module. This approach proved very successful as a training method. When the instructors felt the students were getting too comfortable with the layout of the search trainer, they made a few minor changes, illustrating for trainees the futility of memorizing the facility’s construction features.
With funds provided by the board of fire commissioners, two colleagues and 1 built the search trainer during the period from February through May 1992. During this time, two former chiefs of our department designed a roof and basement simulator. In July 1992, we received funds to build the rest of the training facility and purchase two more rescue dummies and a smoke machine.
Once completed, the training facility has been used by our ladder rescue company and two engine companies as well as for training probationary personnel.
TRAINING FACILITY COMPONENTS
The training facility includes the following components: mounted to all corners of each wall section.
- Search trainer. About 31 feet long and eight feet wide, the trainer has five mov-
- able walls. One full wall contains a door and a breach wall simulator that can be left open (by removing two wall panels) or closed off when not in use. Four half walls make it possible for instructors to observe and film students during training. Two of the first-floor half walls contain half doors; the other two are paneled with Plexiglass®. The panels, which are on slide tracks, can be repositioned to create openings in different locations. The side walls are marked and drilled out for slide bolts,
The trainer also contains a second-floor area. A movable set of stairs to the second floor can be located anywhere in the trainer. The second floor rests on a slide track that extends from the front to the rear of the trainer on both side walls, four feet off the floor.
The three-section floor can be slid on the track to create a second floor anywhere in the trainer. All half walls can be placed directly under the second floor, if needed. The floor can be turned over and used as a rafter simulator. Half walls are placed on each of the second floor’s open sides and also are slid-bolted into the trainer sides. The half walls consist of three panels of Plexiglass. Each panel can be lifted out of its slide track to allow for placement of the stairs. These walls enable the instructor to observe the students without being in the line of fire of swinging tools and props.
Electricity runs throughout the trainer to facilitate the use of lighting, a smoke machine, and an exhaust fan. Props donated by department members have made it possible to create a bedroom, kitchen, and living room effect. A dozen blacked-out face pieces are on hand for student use, as are props that can be set up for confined space training and a mask-confidence course.
• Roof simulator. It contains three different pitch roofs. Each section is 10 feet 8 inches long and contains a 4 x 4 skylight hole. Brackets hold pallets, donated by local merchants, that form the actual roof. Each roof contains an inside floor section to catch fallen debris and to hold another pallet to simulate a “second” roof; our jurisdiction is populated with many old bungalows that have been renovated. The simulated second roof provides a cockloft similar to those firefighters are likely to encounter.
The roof simulator is self-supported and does not rest on the search trainer below it. If the need arises, the trailer can be pulled out from under the roof simulator. Ladder and ventilation classes have been very successful since the roof simulator has been placed into service. On the highest pitched roof, a window has been added to the side. The window is laddered for VES training.
• Basement simulator. It contains a Bilco™ door that comes off the side of the search trainer. A set of stairs leads to underneath the search trainer. The bottom of the trailer is enclosed; there are two access doors for quick entry should a problem arise. All wood has been treated so that handlines can be stretched and placed into service. A local hockey rink donated some used matting, which was placed on the basement floor to keep students from tearing their bunker pants on the asphalt.
Future plans include piping smoke to all sections of the training facility and adding a window simulator to the high-pitch roof.*
