NEWBURY — Chief Dave Evans reports that the Newbury Fire Department hosted a weekend of Live Fire Training on Plum Island in conjunction with the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy (MFA) and the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.
Thirty-three firefighters from 10 different departments participated in the two-day training. Firefighters from the following departments participated: Newbury, Newburyport, West Newbury, Salisbury, Haverhill, North Andover, Winthrop, Haverhill, Milford and Melrose. Newbury and West Newbury supplied the apparatus for the weekend’s training evolutions.
On Saturday, Oct. 26, the MFA Mobile Live Fire Training Unit (MTU) was used to give firefighters a chance to work on their fire suppression skills by attacking simulated kitchen and bedroom fires, as well as basement fires.
The MTU uses propane gas as fuel instead of ordinary class “A” combustibles, so it can be placed almost anywhere. With movable wall panels and many props, firefighters can combat kitchen, bedroom and living room fires and experience a rollover. Student firefighters can run through multiple scenarios in one day, including moving hose lines up and down stairs and through a structure.
The instructors, MFA burn qualified instructors, are present to run the prop and act as safety officers. Each participating department was responsible for training its own members.
On Sunday, Oct. 27, firefighters were put through the flashover trailer, which allowed firefighters to see the chemistry of fire, the heat, and rollover situations.
The one-day flashover recognition course introduces the warning signs of imminent flashover to firefighters conducting interior fire attacks. The class begins with a two-and-a-half-hour lecture on the characteristics of flashover, followed by another two-and-a-half hours of live fire evolutions inside the flashover simulator.
“Thank you to the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy and the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge for collaborating with us to host this two-day training,” said Chief Evans. “This intense training gave our firefighters and members of our neighboring departments real-world scenarios that will serve them well as they continue their careers in the fire service.”
