Sevier County volunteer firefighter Jim Carr was fighting the Sevier County wildland fires last week when the fast-moving fire trapped him.
Blinded by smoke and hemmed in by flames, he called the mayday, recorded a video farewell to his wife and kids and prepared to die.
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When his assistant chief suggested he use the thermal imaging camera for help, it remarkably showed him a darker area that was a hole in the fire, a bulldozer road. He followed that road to safety.
Singed and still a bit shaken, Carr shared his story with with WATE.
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Do You Know the Warning Signs of Flashover? Don’t Miss Your Chance to Learn Them With Flashover and Modern Fire Behavior Training. Available at FDIC 2022
Description
Flashover training offers firefighters the opportunity to observe fire behavior and the signs the lead up to a flashover. Training will be conducted in a Phase #1 training container from Swede Survival systems. This allows students in a controlled environment to be instructed in fire development, flashover, and backdrafts, educating them in ventilation, fire attack, and safe fireground operations. Students will learn to recognize flashovers and learn escape methods, along with unsafe operations on the fireground that led to firefighter injuries and fatalities.
Methodology
Flashover student undergo a 45 min lecture on fire behavior, warning signs, and survival techniques. Students will undergo medical monitoring, SCBA training, and PPE inspections. Under live fire conditions they will witness 8 to 12 flashover events. Firefighters will receive instruction in fire behavior, Flow path, Gas / smoke production. They will experience the 4 warnings sign of a Flashover. Students will experience how all of the warning signs will be absent and yet a flashover will still occur. That ventilation and flow path are major contributors in fire behavior. Student will be instructed in the importance of door control in affecting a rescue or time to escape.
A miniature steel structure house will be utilized to reinforced reading smoke, door control, ventilation, and flow path. Student will be evaluated on their new knowledge about fire behavior and flashover.
An exam , debriefing and lesson plans will be given.
Learning Objectives
Train the firefighter to recognize the warning signs of FLASHOVER. Enable the firefighter to better understand the science behind what causes a FLASHOVER .Instruct the firefighter in survival techniques. Provide knowledge to identify flashover conditions. Educate students on fire behavior in a controlled environment.
