Car explodes at fire training

Firefighters are supposed to put out fires, not start them, unless they have to start fires to learn how to put them out.

A dozen crew members from the Town of Plains Volunteer Fire Department went through about two hours of training to learn the best and safest way of extinguishing a vehicle fire Thursday evening.

The department’s team, led by Chief Larry Ballantyne, who recently took over the department and recruited more than a dozen new volunteers, traveled to Valley Towing’s wrecking yard some six miles north of Plains just off Upper Lynch Creek Road, where they set fire to a smashed vehicle, then put the fire out — twice.

Craig Jeppson from the Fire Services Training School in Huson led the training operation. Only two weeks ago, Jeppson, the school’s western regional manager and a member of the Frenchtown Fire Department, provided training to the Town of Plains Volunteer Fire Department and the Plains-Paradise Rural Fire Department on freeing people trapped in vehicles. The firefighters Thursday set fire to the same car they utilized in their extrication instruction.

Jeppson said there are very few differences between battling a vehicle fire and a building blaze. “They don’t just blow up like in the movies,” said Jeppson, who has fought more than a dozen car and truck fires during his career as a firefighter. He said it’s not the fuel in a vehicle that is the most dangerous aspect — it’s one of a vehicle’s safety mechanisms — air bags.

“Our number one fear is the air bag,” said Jeppson. “We treat those things like a loaded gun.” Inside the air bag mechanism is the chemical sodium azide, which produces a nitrogen gas. An explosion of that mechanism can take place because of extreme heat or if it comes in contact with water.

As the second group of Plains firefighters approached the car Thursday, the apparatus exploded and shot sparks, the device and shrapnel several feet in the air. The charred device landed about 15 feet from the vehicle in front of the three firemen and Jeppson.

“I thought it was pretty cool,” said Jon Knoepke, who was manning the hose, along with Prentiss Campbell and Sam Felix, when the blast occurred. “I was just glad it went off before we got there,” added Knoepke.

Jeppson commended the crew for continuing on after the explosion. “Kudos to you guys. I know some guys who wouldn’t have stayed with the fight after that,” said Jeppson, who’s been a firefighter in Montana for about six months, but served for nearly 30 years in Utah.

“That made the whole thing very realistic,” said Ballantyne, who added that it helped drive Jeppson’s point across on the dangers of air bags in a burning vehicle. “I think the next time they walk up to a burning car, they’ll remember that,” said Ballantyne.

The training included two fire scenarios — one with a fire under the hood and one inside the vehicle. Straw soaked with diesel fuel was stuck in both places to speed up the intentional fires, which were ignited by Phil Seng, one of the firefighters.

The first crew was comprised of Joe Sheppard, the department’s captain and acting assistant fire chief, Don Lynch and Nick Lawyer. Each crew was taught to slowly approach the vehicle by hosing down the ground near the car with water in case fuel had leaked and drifted their way. However, Jeppson advised them that unless there is a person trapped in the vehicle, and is still alive, there is no reason to rush or to get in close. A vehicle that is fully engulfed in flames likely will not contain survivors, although he showed them the quickest way to look into a smoke-filled vehicle for people inside.

Jeppson said that making sure the firefighters are safe is one of the primary concerns. He said that the only correction in the training was that the firefighters of both teams were too close to the burning vehicle.

The instructor went over several tips from where to park the fire engine to communications to popping a locked trunk. One thing that usually surprises firefighters is the popping of the vehicle’s tires, which he said is not generally dangerous.

He said that overall the Plains crews did an excellent job of putting out the fires. Jeppson held a “tailboard critique” after each drill to go over the pros and cons of the exercise, something he likes to do with the Frenchtown firefighters immediately after a fire because it’s still fresh in their minds.

Ballantyne was pleased with the training and said it’s always better when they can put out a real fire, rather than just pretending. “Walking up to the fire, you can feel the heat,” said the chief. “It adds an element of realism,” said Ballantyne, who had responded to a couple of vehicle fires when he was previously on the department several years ago. He also said that the department gets one or two vehicle fires a year and it’s important for the firefighters to be ready and be aware of the dangers inherent with vehicle fires.

Another tip Jeppson gave was not to approach a vehicle directly from the front or back because the fire can trigger the bumpers to fly off. The shock absorbers, part of most modern bumpers can cause a bumper to fly through the air and can cause serious injuries to someone in its path, said Jeppson. “A fire can shoot that bumper 30 feet,” said Lynch.

Ballantyne noted that with Thursday’s training exercise, the department has gone over 400 hours of training since January, when he took over as chief. “That’s incredible,” he said.

There are 18 volunteer firefighters with the Plains department, but Ballantyne said he’d like to get two more, which is all he has equipment for.