Training by simulation

HILLSIDE DISTRICT — City dignitaries and public safety officials gathered at the Burbank Fire Department's Helicopter Spot above Stough Park Thursday for a glimpse at a new Survival Flashover Training Facility.

The facility, which roughly resembles the steel cargo containers stacked on ocean freighters, simulates the conditions of a flashover — one of the more dangerous hazards firefighters face — when the gaseous contents of a burn are heated to the point that they ignite and suddenly envelope a room.

In the flashover simulator, training coordinators stoke a blaze in elevated section of the facility and firefighters can lie down and observe the fire safely from a lower vantage point, said Burbank Fire Capt. Mike Malloy.

"It's an experience you just couldn't have in the real world and stay alive," he said.

And giving trainees a chance to understand the conditions of a flashover will save their lives out in the field, said retired Burbank Fire Battalion Chief Bill Saunders, a key force in coordinating the grant request for the project.

"It's a very important training program that we're going to be able to share, not only with Burbank firefighters, but firefighters throughout the San Gabriel Valley," he said.

Though larger agencies like the city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County fire departments have their own flashover training equipment, booking time at those facilities is often difficult and it comes at a substantial price, said Scott Smith, community relations manager for the Fireman's Fund.

The new facility will also be used by cities such as Arcadia, Alhambra, Glendale and Pasadena, he said.

The equipment was financed with by $157,218 grant from the Fireman's Fund and the Dewitt Stern Group.

The amount was the single largest grant dispersed by the fund and part of more than $11 million in grant funds spread throughout the nation, he said.

"This is a very valuable piece of equipment because it's not something they see every day — especially for new fire fighters," Smith said.

For now, the facility is being kept above Stough Park, but officials are looking for a permanent spot, Smith said.