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Fire Simulation at Nuclear Power Plant’s Fire Brigade

Firemen had an opportunity to exercise in a fire simulation truck Fire Dragon IV in Paks, at the Power Plant’s Fire Brigade, 3 through 8 October. The truck is designed to provide a training facility for professionals to make them capable of efficiently eliminate cases of fire as well as other potential sources of damage, taking particular account of firemen’s physical and psychic acquirements.

Training of fire personnel is a multi-stage process that begins with familiarizing firemen with fire-fighting and protective means and equipment as well as teaching them how to use such means. As a next step, firemen are trained in harmonizing their activities, and they get the mastery of using these means, while observing relevant labour safety, technological, radiation protection, moral, etc. regulations. The final stage is when firemen can practice their knowledge acquired in the first two stages of training in real or simulated fire situations. Fire simulation truck can be an efficient means in this last phase of training.
There are companies all over the world specialized in constructing buildings and vehicles designed for use as efficient means in fire personnel’s training. Fire simulation trucks are the most widely used training aids since, having completed a training job, they can “roll on” to the next fire department, which is a great advantage in terms of economic efficiency, space saving, as well as for professional considerations.
The Nuclear Power Plant’s Fire Brigade already had an opportunity to test a fire simulation truck in 2004, and that experience made a positive impression on them. To heighten training efficiency, they had a second recourse to the “truck” in 2005, equipped with elements other than last year. Firemen accomplished the fire-fighting exercise in groups of two, wearing complete protective clothing and breathing apparatus.
The exercise was based on accomplishing three fire-fighting tasks. The first obstacle to overcome was an endless ladder, on which firemen had to climb a distance of at least 20 metres. Then a labyrinth followed, as part of psychical training, to get across in darkness and fume. Various acoustic effects distracting firemen’s attention, such as maroon explosions, made the task more difficult to solve. Having surmounted that meandering obstacle, firemen entered the fire chamber where they had to extinguish three types of simulated fire, the first being a flash over job, the second a glowing desk and computer, and the third one a bed on fire. Flame and heat effects, with temperatures as high as 300 C0, were produced by burning PB gas in the chamber.
The exercise was a good opportunity for the fire personnel to gain lots of useful pieces of experience on the co-operation in extreme situations, the heat effect to withstand, managing flash over fire situations, the right way of using protective equipment, selecting the right place when firemen are exposed to high thermal loads and many other issues, drawing on which firemen can increase efficiency of their future interventions.
Chiefs at the head of the Nuclear Power Plant’s Fire Brigade deem it important to ensure that fire-fighting professionals working for the Power Plant as well as the personnel of other fire departments obliged under the Alarm and Assistance Plan to march out to the Power Plant in cases of fire have the opportunity to try the fire simulation truck and benefit from the experience gained there.

The strength fire departments took part with in the training exercise was an indication to that effect that our commanding staff had made a good decision when it had been for that type of exercise to place the training of firemen on a wider basis. Those who took part in the exercise deemed the entire track of obstacles useful and realistic.
Besides Power Plant’s fire professionals, firemen from Paks, Szekszárd, Dombóvár, Kalocsa, Sárbogárd, Bonyhád, Budapest, Ferihegy Airport, Kaposvár and Tolna had the opportunity to take part in the exercise.

István Schreiner
Fire & Technical Rescue Head
Nuclear Power Plant’s Fire Brigade
(09 October 2005)

Lánglovagok
Also published in Weekly News Bulletin (40th week)