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It didn’t take long for smoke to fill the air after fire officials held a ribbon cutting ceremony in honor of their newly renovated burn building. Several community members and fire employees gathered for today’s windy ceremony. KSMU’s Chasity Mayes was there and reports.
It was after that ceremony that fire crews began filling the brick building with heat and smoke. Dark smoke poured out of broken windows as fire officials used powerful water hoses to cool the building. This type of simulation is just one of many that will be conducted in the new burn building as a form of training.
“Having a burn building like this allows us to bring a new recruit into training,”said Randy Villines. He is Springfield’s assistant fire chief.
He says with the help of volunteer donations of labor, equipment and materials, the newly renovated building will give new firefighters the opportunity to experience what it’s like inside of a burning building without serious risk.
“[The building will] allow them to experience that environment well ahead of ever entering a house fire or a building fire and know what those skill they need as far as staying low, where the cooler air is, how to utilize the hose lines, and relying on their partners, the 2 in 2 out rule,”said Vallines.
The smoke and heat inside the building is created with what firefighters call a 55-gallon “burn barrel.” Fire officials say they fill that barrel with wood and straw before it’s set ablaze inside the training structure. They also say that the walls of the structure are made out of a thick sheetrock material that’s heat resistant and creates an oven-like situation for trainees.
With the re-opening of the burn building, the fire department will be able to use this facility until it is eventually replaced at a new police-fire training center. The burn building is available for use by other fire departments in the area, particularly Willard and Republic, which have mutual aid agreements with Springfield.
For KSMU News, I’m Chasity Mayes.
