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HILL AIR FORCE BASE — A new high-tech fire engine pump simulator is helping the Hill Air Force Base Fire Department prepare for difficult situations where hands-on training previously could be hard to come by.
While firefighters may consistently check on and maintain their equipment between calls, there is always a small chance for disastrous failure. Hill Air Force Base Fire Captain Daniel Payne said those situations are extremely rare but must be prepared for, and an advanced pump operations simulator is allowing his crews to train for those scenarios.
“Extremely rare, but we can’t mimic that on the real truck because we’ll do irreversible damage to it,” Payne said. “We can fail a hose, those really odd, very extremely rare scenarios where you’re fighting fires and a hose pops or your truck starts to overheat, or something is wrong with the vehicle itself.”
The roughly $65,000 piece of equipment came to the department just a few months ago through squadron funds that are set aside for technological advances that can help improve their overall ability to fulfill their mission.
The benefits of having this, they were astronomical. It's definitely paid off.
–Daniel Payne, Hill Air Force Base Fire Department
“It really mimics just super-close to the real thing,” Payne said. “These guys can kind of get that feel of what to do in that type of situation when you have a team inside fighting a fire and they have no more water to fight fire with.”
Payne said he’s not aware of any similar simulators in the state of Utah, but his department is making its simulator available for other departments to train on.
They can also train on more typical responses, helping keep their skills sharp.
However, Payne said the device really shines in those very rare scenarios where something goes wrong in the field.
“You still got to be ready for it and with this simulator, we can now practice those scenarios,” Payne said. “The benefits of having this, they were astronomical. It’s definitely paid off.”
