FCVFD - Incident Photos
Live Fire Training
click to view a larger version of each picture
Description
Twelve FCVFD personnel joined members from the Arcola Pleasant Valley VFD during training evolutions at two distinctly different structures. The morning exercise was conducted on the site of an abandoned pig farm in Broadlands. A large pig shed was burned while a silo adjacent to it was protected. The afternoon exercise was conducted in a vacant double-wide mobile home in Arcola. Before the structure was burned, personnel practiced ventilating windows and overhauling walls and ceilings. From the time of ignition in the rear bathroom, the structure took approximately 4 minutes to become fully involved on the interior with no survivable spaces. In approximately 20 minutes, only the structural wood framing remained standing with all interior and exterior surfaces burned away. The interior fire spread was greatly increased by the veneered wood paneling throughout the living areas. These two exercises, while conducted without the benefit of any interior fire attack, provided several valuable opportunities for learning. Personnel reviewed rural water supply operations, hoseline placement and management, building construction, and exposure protection practices. One of the most important aspects of the training was the observation of fire behavior in two very different structures. The effects of compartmentalization, varying structural components, ventilation, and interior finishes all showed their effects on the two fires. Many thanks to Chief Shultz and the members of the Arcola Pleasant Valley VFD for sharing this opportunity with our organization.
Return to the Index
