USING PROPS, SIMULATORS, AND MOCKUPS FOR MORE REALISTIC TRAINING

BY LEIGH T. HOLLINS

I have OFTEN heard the fire SERVICE DESCRIBED as “150 years of history unimpeded by progress.” Although that statement might apply to certain situations we may encounter (good and bad), as a general statement, it can’t be further from the truth. Look around you at the technology we now enjoy, at the type of equipment we have, at the apparatus we ride (inside an air-conditioned cab, of course), and the way we train. The fire service has certainly progressed tremendously in 150 years.

(1) This underground gas line mock-up successfully uses the combination of props and a simulator to safely and effectively train students in the exact procedures for dealing with various sizes of gas lines that are leaking or severed. Realism is the key to the most successful training mock-ups. (Photos by author.)

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(2) This “static” prop can be used for a multitude of drills, including vehicle extrication, collapse rescue, concrete cutting operations, remote camera use, confined space rescue, major disaster training, and canine search and rescue. Instructors are limited only by their imagination when they have great props like this one, located in Fairfax County, Virginia.

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(3) Another example of a static prop is this full-size power line prop. The local power company relocated it, free of charge, from its training yard to the local fire training facility in Manatee County, Florida. It can be used to identify the various components of power lines; improve aerial operation skills (near power lines); and practice retrieving an injured worker, aerial operator, or other victim who may encounter power lines.

Specifically, many great strides have been made in firefighter training during the past 25 years or so. Some of these include the training methods we use; the safety procedures we employ; the technical information we are expected to know; the diversity of our duties; and the types of training props, simulators, and mockups we have available or are able to construct.

The terms “prop,” “simulator,” and “mockup” are actually very different, and their uses vary widely. A prop is best described as something used for a presentation or to enhance a presentation. A prop would be something like the yellow sign in photo 1, which warns of an underground gas line. It is not a functional part of the training; it only serves to enhance the “realism.”

(4) The owner was glad to get rid of this old abandoned fuel truck. The truck was transformed into a great mockup with the use of piped-in propane. As a prop, the truck’s placards can be changed to practice simple haz-mat scenarios. As a simulator, the truck’s leaking tank can be filled with water to create a larger haz-mat drill, or actual fires can occur. Among the types of gas fires that can be recreated include (the following in photos)

(5) a cab fire impinging on the tank and a belly-mounted fuel tank fire,

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(6) a rear compartment fire, and (not shown) a dome vapor fire.

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A simulator is something that enables the trainer to reproduce or represent a real-life situation, under controllable conditions, for the purposes of training. Examples of simulators would be the air compressor and valves located in the wooden cabinets and the underground piping in photo 1. These components not only add to the realism; they are all functional parts that allow the trainer to reproduce a situation in a training environment.

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(7, 8) This full-sized training mockup, known as “Fort Rescue,” contains many training props and simulators. Several are evident, such as the rappelling wall, the confined space pipes, and the various stairs. However, Fort Rescue also contains manholes, hatches, electricity with lockout-tagout capabilities, a standpipe, a sprinkler system, a standard siamese FDC, a five-inch Storz FDC, anchor system tie-offs, and escape doors. Once again, only imagination limits the training capabilities.

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A mockup can be defined as something that is designed and built to show the results of a proposed action—in other words, if you do this, that will happen. The combination of the props and the simulator in photo 1 make up the Underground Gas Lines Mockup.

(9) This mobile home was transformed into an extremely effective training simulator for SCBA confidence and firefighter survival drills.

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(10) Inside the simulator are up to three levels of maze measuring more than 400 feet in length. Built in the middle of the maze is a full-height instructor’s area with hatches, sliding panels, and escape doors. This allows the instructor to set up one of more than 75 mazes of varying levels of difficulty while at the same time being able to monitor the students and direct them to an escape door, if needed. This setup also allows the instructor to communicate with the student “privately,” should anxiety problems arise.

Some training mockups may be stand-alone props; others might be simulators. However, my experience has shown that the best training mockups are a combination of both. The results will usually be a very realistic training tool, which is the main objective when using a mockup of any sort to train firefighters and rescue workers.

(11) As large as they are, these full-size railcars are simply training props. They are used to enhance the realism of a drill. What better way to train your firefighters than to have several real railcars at your disposal whenever you need them?

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(12) This may look a little funny, but this “trust” and “leadership” training was rated the number-one training session the year it was held. Participants from the chief to the newest rookie participated at a local “treatment” center that constructed this leadership course. In addition to what is shown in the photo, there were a trapeze jump, a wall climb, a tightrope, and several other components.

Actually, some of the fire training mockups we now use are so high tech that I question their effectiveness when used alone. Do your firefighters use computer software programs to simulate fighting fires? If so, I hope they enhance that training with live-fire training burns or at least training in burn buildings. There are some things you just can’t simulate without also practicing using the real thing; structural firefighting is at the top of that list.

COMBINING TECHNIQUES MOST EFFECTIVE

I advocate a combination of training methods and techniques to provide the firefighter with the most up-to-date information available in the most realistic setting possible. My hands-on training philosophy is to have the firefighters work up to the most difficult scenario they may encounter in the discipline you are teaching (that you can recreate with mockups). If they can master that, through training, they should be able to handle any situation that is less difficult.

(13) This extremely large static training prop was set up at the Fire Department Instructors Conference West in Sacramento, California, to train students in collapse rescue procedures. The prop’s realism and size make the training experience as close to working an actual collapse rescue incident as students can get.

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(14) This horizontal fuel tank mockup encompasses the combination of a prop and a simulator to successfully depict a real incident. Like the fuel truck in photo 5, this tank can be used as a static prop or, when using propane gas, as a simulator, reproducing a real-life situation under controlled

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An example would be the Hands-on Training (H.O.T.) class I teach on extrication at the Fire Department Instructors Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, held every spring. Firefighters using actual school buses (the prop/simulator) begin by looking at the bus components and features, progress to removing windows and doors, and then advance to cutting through the sides and the roof of the school bus, which is considered the most difficult task to perform. Having to cut through the sides or the roof of a school bus at an actual emergency scene is the most difficult school bus scenario responders might face. However, having advanced to that level of training using a realistic prop/simulator, the firefighters are not only trained to perform such techniques; they have actually experienced them.

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(15, 16) These roof mockups can be used in a variety of ways. From simple “sounding-out-truss” training (as a prop) to full-scale ventilation drills (as a simulator), these mockups allow the student to perform a task in exactly the same manner as at a fire scene. The instructor can add smoke to make the drill more realistic. The key is to come as close to performing the actual task in a controlled, safe manner as possible, resulting in a high student retention rate, which equates to real “knowledge.”

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That’s what it is all about in the fire service today: REALISTIC training. The use of props, simulators, and mockups can help firefighters reach the competency level they need to be prepared for the multitude of emergency scenes to which they may be called.

The examples of props, simulators, and mockups are presented here to give you some ideas and to inspire you to use such realistic training aids in your program. It is also important to remember that the key to successful training is that the student gain knowledge. Knowledge is not what a person is taught; it is what a person remembers. Firefighters retain information better and for a longer time if they actually do the tasks involved in the scenario. Realistic training props, simulators, and mockups allow this to happen.

This article is dedicated to John Mickel, a lieutenant with Osceola County (FL) Fire Rescue, who died in the line of duty on July 30, 2002.

LEIGH T. HOLLINS began his career in 1976 in New Jersey. He currently serves as a battalion chief with Cedar Hammock (FL) Fire Rescue and is co-owner of Starfire Training Systems Inc. in Manatee County, Florida. He has a degree in fire science and is the author of numerous fire-related articles, a frequent presenter at the FDIC, a lead instructor for the FDIC’s Hands-On Training program, and a member of the Fire Engineering editorial advisory board and FDIC educational committee.