Sapulpa Fire Department supports Tulsa cadet training at OSU
Friday, February 24, 2006
STILLWATER - Outdoor activities prohibited by the burn ban also include fires for
prospective firefighter training. As a result of a partnership with Sapulpa Fire Department,
OSU 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 theirs.
Academy cadets training to join the Tulsa Fire Department recently participated in
live burn exercises at OSU Fire Service Training’s professional skills center west
of Stillwater. The drills were conducted with a live burn trailer on loan to OSU-FST
by Sapulpa Fire Department.
The $300,000 apparatus was purchased by Sapulpa Fire Department 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, OSU Fire Service
Training 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.”
Sapulpa Fire Department’s successful application for the firefighter assistance grant
to purchase the trailer included the condition it be used in the training of other
Oklahoma firefighters. SFD is a longtime partner of OSU Fire Service Training – recently
donating a pumper truck to OSU.
“Since 9/11, there has been a national emphasis that fire departments learn to work
together better,” said Sapulpa Fire Department Capt. Dannie Whitehouse. “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,” he said. “[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 – supports 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 how to vent 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,” he said “But at a time like this 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.”