The department joined the St. John, District 1 and 308 fire departments to receive training to instruct firefighters who are using a live-fire training unit.
A new specialized training unit, which was delivered to the Thibodaux Volunteer Department Training Center earlier this month, exposes firefighters to live fire conditions with temperatures in excess of 1,200 degrees, Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Benton Foret said.
"We've been looking for ways to improve the knowledge base of our members," Foret said. "Up until we had this opportunity, we had to work with LSU on what is called flashover training, which is an opportunity to put members in the environment that they would expect inside a burning building in a controlled environment."
The $55,000 unit, which the department purchased using a grant from the Lorio Foundation, includes a burn chamber and a student and instructor area, where student firefighters observe fire behavior and learn to read and interpret conditions in a structure that is fully engulfed in fire, Foret said.
Foret said the new unit exposes training firefighters to realistic situations they could encounter in an interior blaze and how to recognize the different stages of such fires.
"The purpose in using this new unit is to teach firefighters the early warning signs of hazardous, impending flashover conditions that firefighters cannot survive even in firefighting gear so they will know how to manage the conditions or know when it is time to get out of the affected area," Foret said.
Wood and other combustible materials are strategically placed in a burn chamber and lit by an instructor. The strategic placement of these materials and subsequent lighting of the materials intentionally generates fire conditions that firefighters must be able to recognize and identify as highly hazardous conditions to interior firefighting operations, Foret said.
The student and instructor area allows training firefighters to experience live fire, smoke and heat conditions they will encounter during a response to a real-life blaze.
Foret said until now the department didn't have the ability to conduct this kind of training due to the requirement of specialized equipment and training to generate such high-heat conditions.
"We have a state-of-the-art facility, but one thing we didn't have was a flashover unit," he said. "The Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department is pleased with the results of the unit and training it has allowed the department to undertake thus far."
Firefighters were instructed by On Scene Training Associates LLC, which consists of the most experienced and respected fire and emergency service instructors in the country, Foret said.
"All of the On Scene instructors are firefighters and carry state instructor credentials, and many are nationally registered with Pro Boards, the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress and the American Society of Home Inspectors," he said. "We'll also be able to host and share this information with regional departments as well."
Foret said On Scene Training has instructed in almost every state in the country as well as U.S. territories and several foreign countries, and many of the company's instructors are staff members of the Fire Department Instructor's Conference, FDIC East, Firehouse World, Firehouse Expo, Firehouse Central and several other regional and local conferences.
"The addition of this new unit and specialized training is an example of the commitment the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department has made in providing our members with the best equipment and knowledge to equip our firefighters to best serve the public," Foret said.
--Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 857-2202 or at dan.copp@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter@DanVCopp.
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