DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN FIRE TRAINING AND DRILLS USING CONVENTIONAL MATERIALS

Canalp Berkdemir, who served as Fire Chief in Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, included the negativities encountered in the field applications of fire training and the relevant solution suggestions in the declaration of Fire Safety and Applications of Training in Industries (TUYAK Proceedings Book, 2015) in the text below.

‘When we look at the problems encountered in their applications, the inadequacy of the institution providing the training, the qualifications and qualifications of the trainers who carry out the training and exercises in the field, the standard of the materials to be used in the training and exercises, the scientific nature and standard of the training subjects, the inappropriateness of the places where the training is given, the quality of the training materials, the standard of the time allocated for the training, the lack of a final report of the training and the lack of measurement and evaluation of the training.

Fire training and safety is not a one-time action; it must be renewed in practice every year; it is the implementation of the business’s emergency plan; it is the execution of scenario-based drills in which all personnel participate; it must be measurable and evaluable; it is the operation of all fire warning and extinguishing systems; it is the personal involvement of the business management; it is the testing and review of all actions in different seasons and times; it is the implementation of fire safety process management by all personnel.

Based on this information, we can say that interdisciplinary training transforms an individual’s negative behavior patterns into positive ones, in line with established objectives. Fire training has a significantly different educational structure than other types of training. This difference lies primarily in the fact that, like “preventive medicine,” the training focuses on preventing fires. Secondly, when faced with a real fire, the holistic, natural thinking approach and technical knowledge on the fire field are matched with the consistency of short-term decision-making. Otherwise, an individual’s indecisiveness can lead to fear and panic. Another distinctive feature of fire training is that this knowledge is often forgotten due to its lack of consistent use. Therefore, as stated in the Regulation on the Fire Protection of Buildings, fire training and drills must be updated annually.

The issue of fire safety and training needs to be reconsidered according to the developing science, technology and industries.’ Berkdemir, C., Applications of Fire Safety and Training in Industries, TÜYAK Proceedings Book, 2015

5 LIFE RISKS INCLUDED IN FIRE TRAINING AND DRILLS USING CONVENTIONAL TRAINING MATERIALS

1. Lack of Controlled Fuel Feeding: During fire extinguisher usage training with a mixture of flammable liquid (gasoline, etc.) and water, it is not possible to control the burning liquid other than extinguishing it.

Incident: Thinner spilled to fuel the fire that was about to die out during a drill at a high school in Bitlis turned into a fireball and a student was engulfed in flames, suffering fatal burns all over his body.

2. Failure to Control Ignition: The absorbent textile, typically placed on the tip of the stick, is immersed in a flammable liquid before being lit and held like a torch. During each ignition, the instructor is forced to approach the fire tray, where flammable liquid vapor is readily produced.

Incident: While a firefighter working in the Ordu Fire Department was trying to light a practice fire, the bottle containing a flammable chemical in his hand caught fire. At that moment, the firefighter tried to get away from the flames and swung the bottle in his hand, and the flammable chemical that spilled into the environment ignited the clothes of the participants around him, including the Fire Chief.

3. Spread of the Combustible: The pressurized gas in portable extinguishers can cause the flammable chemical to spill out of the tray during spraying, causing the combustion surface to get out of control and spreading the fire.

4. Hot Surface: The excitement of the person using the extinguisher for the first time and the unevenness of the exercise ground may cause the participant to trip and fall, and to be exposed to the flames in the burning pan and the hot surface, which may cause serious burns.

5. Environmental Emission: Due to the uncontrolled burning of flammable liquid used in training, extra pollution load is created in the environmental sense.

SOLUTION PROPOSAL

Gas-Fed Fire Training Simulators offer a realistic, safe and environmentally friendly solution by controlling the 5 vital risks mentioned above.