A new training facility will assist Madison firefighters in practicing to battle what officials said is one of the most dangerous situations that they can face: "flashovers."
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The Madison Fire Department first began to use the flashover container in May. Members of the local news media were given the chance to experience a flashover under controlled circumstances on Tuesday, WISC-TV reported. A flashover occurs when the gas and smoke in a confined space ignite and can fill a room with flames.
The containers will allow firefighters to see firsthand what they've only previously learned about in lectures or books. Firefighter training officers said that one can see pictures or get explanations about flashovers, but even the best training can't prepare someone for the experience of a flashover in the midst of a real fire.
Officials said that this new training could mean the difference between life and death -- both for firefighters and the citizens that they're serving, WISC-TV reported.
"The lessons don't stick until you actually see it firsthand and then you remember those lessons," said Division Chief Ron Schwenn.
To enter the container during a training scenario, all are suited in full firefighter gear and prepared for extreme heat. Training officials said that one part of the metal area in the container would reach between 300 to 400 degrees. Meanwhile, the smoke and gases in the container will literally explode into flames above the trainees' heads.
The atmosphere in the container is closed from all oxygen, and gases and smoke build up. Soon, the air around goes from what the officials called "black fire" to a flashover in just a few seconds. No one -- including a firefighter fully suited in protective gear -- could survive the up to 2,000 degree temperatures in the flashover, officials said.
"If a firefighter does not have a hose line to protect them when a flashover occurs, they've got about 5 feet of travel in that two seconds to get out," said Schwenn. "And if they can't, they become burned and potentially dead."
Officials said that flashovers can cause serious injuries to firefighters. In fact, flashovers have injured two Madison firefighters in just the last year and a half. One was injured in a January 2005 fire on Tomkins Drive, and was taken to the hospital and treated for burns, WISC-TV reported.
Officials said that these incidents were a contributing factor for them to develop this new training.
"We just can't tolerate that kind of injury to our people so we've got to provide a way for them to learn about it and deal with it in a safe environment," said Schwenn.
Schwenn said that it's more important for firefighters to get the training now because modern furniture is more combustible, there are much larger homes in the city and improved synthetic materials like insulation burn hot and can cause flashovers.
Scott Larson, a department training officer, said that the new containers are an important new addition to their training regiment, WISC-TV reported.
"It's indescribable how valuable it is," Larson said. "You can't even put a price on it because you can't learn anywhere else except for these containers."
The department bought the container with money from a federal homeland security grant. Officials said that they're hoping to make an agreement with the Madison Area Technical College (MATC) Fire Training Division to use the container to train all Dane County firefighters.
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