Altus Air Force Base News

 

Flashover training saves lives

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kenneth W. Norman
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Members of the 97th Civil Engineer Squadron fire department took part in an advanced fire behavior training course provided by Oklahoma State University fire service training instructors, Aug. 29, at the training pit.

The training was focused mostly on flashovers, which is a type of hostile fire event. A flashover is a transitional phase that happens between the growth stage and the fully developed stage of a fire.

"The whole effort of this course is to identify the signs of a flashover, give you an idea what to do when you see those signs, and then get you out because flashovers will kill you," said Jon Steiner, OSU fire service training instructor.

During a flashover, all of the objects within a space are heated to their ignition point due to thermal radiation feedback. Auto ignition of all the contents, including the smoke, occurs in the room almost instantaneously, and the entire space is consumed by fire.

"We teach them to slow down and think about what they are doing," Steiner said. "They need to recognize the four signs of a flashover, which are high heat, heavy smoke, a free burning fire and a rollover. Once they are seeing a rollover a flashover is imminent."

The firefighters completed four hours of classroom instruction and then went to a flashover simulator at the training pit.

According to an article by Capt. Charles L. French Jr. of the Tulsa Fire Department, a flashover simulator works like a split-level room, with an upper level for the flashover to occur and a lower level in which firefighters can observe the conditions of the upper level.

"Inside the simulator the visibility is nearly zero and it is about 300 degrees," said Harold Bogle, 97th CES fire department training officer.

Although a flashover simulator does not actually produce a true flashover, it provides an opportunity to teach and recognize the signs of an impending flashover and how to effectively prevent it, thus improving the chances of survival, French said in his article.