Sapulpa Fire Department supports Tulsa cadet training at OSU

Friday, February 24, 2006

Outdoor activities prohibited by the burn ban include fires for prospective firefighter training.

Through a partnership with Sapulpa Fire Department, Oklahoma State University Fire Service Training — the chief source of training and educational materials for firefighters in the state — ensured that 35 Tulsa Fire Department cadets could continue their training.

Academy cadets training to join the Tulsa Fire Department recently participated in live burn exercises at FST's professional skills center west of Stillwater. The drills were conducted with a live burn trailer on loan from the Sapulpa Fire Department to FST.

SFD purchased the $300,000 apparatus with a grant from the FEMA Office of Domestic Preparedness’ Assistance to Firefighters program. Fueled by propane, it supersedes the use of ordinary combustibles and flammable liquids typically ignited for live burn exercises in normal conditions. Consequently, FST received approval from the state fire marshal to conduct exercises with the trailer.

“The trailer is a very useful piece of equipment, and, thanks to Sapulpa Fire Department, we have access to it just about any time we want,” said Bryan West, facilities manager at the professional skills center. “It’s completely self-contained, and there is no risk of starting a wildfire, which should put our neighbors out here at ease as we continue to provide training during the burn ban.”

SFD’s successful application for the firefighter assistance grant to purchase the trailer included the condition it would be used to train other Oklahoma firefighters. SFD is a longtime OSU Fire Service Training partner — recently donating a pumper truck to OSU.

“Since 9/11, there has been a national emphasis that fire departments learn to work together better,” SFD Capt. Dannie Whitehouse said. “We’ve had to become more regional in the way we operate, and that has meant learning each other’s deployment methods, what kind of equipment everybody uses and adopting common command procedures.

“Training together helps facilitate that. [Partnering with OSU] is really a win-win for us because firefighters from across the state come here for their IFSAC (International Fire Service Accreditation Congress) certification.”

The Tulsa cadets began their training last fall and participated in the live burn exercises as part of their Fighter I and Firefighter II testing. Inside the trailer, with temperatures approaching 350 degrees, they experienced battling bedroom, kitchen and room rollover fires.

The trailer’s features — including adjustable room and door panels, moveable burn pans and replaceable artificial props — support the simulation of multiple live-fire environments. The top is also an operational platform, allowing firefighters to train in confined space rescue and learn fundamentals such as advancing hose up or down stairs and venting a roof.

Viewing the action and communicating constantly with a safety officer inside the burn area, Whitehouse and Tulsa Fire Department Capt. Dannie Caldwell raised and lowered the flames from the trailer’s control center.

“It’s a controlled environment, so nobody gets hurt,” Caldwell said. “The fire burns long enough that they get a chance to spray the fire and see how it reacts.”

“With the burn ban, we can’t burn wood. We can’t burn hay. And we can’t burn incendiaries such as Excelsior. But at this time in Oklahoma, you can’t just not train new firefighters. This is a safe way to do it without harming the environment or causing any fires.”