Fire Engineering Training Community

Where firefighters come to talk training

Hey Brothers, I'm looking for input on gas fired props inside a fixed burn building. We currently burn class A's (pallets & straw) in our burn building and are considering converting to gas fire props, but we have some concerns that the gas fired props do not produce the same heat & smoke conditions of the class A's. Any thoughts on these props would be appreciated, Thanks!

Views: 348

Replies to This Discussion

My two-cents on this matter is this: You need both. Class A teaches fire behavior and good nozzle application. I personally don't think you can get that with natural gas or LP. Gas-fired is great for evolutions. If the fire is there as a side show (the objective is for a company to advance the line to the fire or you are practicing VES) then the gas allows you to rotate crews quicker and if the crew is not getting it you simply hit the button, shut down and coach then start up again.

One word of caution: LP does not work below 40 degrees F. Condensation affects performance rendering the prop inoperable until spring, if you are in a cold weather area.
I agree with Drew, if you can have the best of both worlds go for both the Class A and gas fired props. If I were forced to choose I would stay with the Class A trainers. We have both and utilize the Class A props more supplemented by smudge pot and smoke machines to achieve varied conditions. With the gas fire props we have had numerous maintance issues, theatrical smoke burns off quickly and communication issues trying to coach or teach over the roar of the gas.
Class A is the way to go. Having used both I feel that firefighters should be exposed to as close to real life conditions as safely possible.
I agree with Drew, you get the best of both worlds. Propane fired adds heat with no smoke, and you can modify/create props that will burn class A AND are gas fired...NG or Propane...just need to adjust the orifice size. It depends what you are trying to accomplish with the training, and the level of the students. ALWAYS match the 2 together for successful training evolutions.

RSS

Policy Page

PLEASE NOTE

The login above DOES NOT provide access to Fire Engineering magazine archives. Please go here for our archives.

CONTRIBUTORS NOTE

Our contributors' posts are not vetted by the Fire Engineering technical board, and reflect the views and opinions of the individual authors. Anyone is welcome to participate.

For vetted content, please go to www.fireengineering.com/issues.

We are excited to have you participate in our discussions and interactive forums. Before you begin posting, please take a moment to read our community policy page.  

Be Alert for Spam
We actively monitor the community for spam, however some does slip through. Please use common sense and caution when clicking links. If you suspect you've been hit by spam, e-mail peter.prochilo@clarionevents.com.

FE Podcasts


Check out the most recent episode and schedule of
UPCOMING PODCASTS

Groups

© 2024   Created by fireeng.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service