Software aids in fire training in Superior
<p>SVFD Chief John Woodland works with new computer software that simulates fire conditions.</p>
SUPERIOR – Firefighters with the Superior Volunteer Fire Department could be better prepared for the next structure fire after they recently received sophisticated, new computer software that simulates fire conditions using photos of actual structures in the community.
The software is capable of simulating different types of fires of varying intensity and character using digital photos of buildings the department could be called on to deal with in Superior and the surrounding area.
Chief John Woodland said the benefit of the software is his firefighters could know what they are facing as soon as they arrive at the scene.
“What I can do is pick structures in the community that concern me and simulate conditions the guys might see,” Woodland said. “We can talk through what they are going to do.”
The software is capable of simulating different types of smoke to varying degrees of intensity of flames from a slight glow in a window to flames pouring out of a structure.
Woodland said he could also simulate conditions the department has already seen, review their approach to extinguishing the fire and that could teach them a lot if they see similar conditions in a future fire.
“There’s a lot we can tell from looking at the smoke,” Woodland said. “We can simulate conditions we expect to see based on our knowledge of what’s inside the structure.”
Woodland said because they are a small, volunteer department, they don’t get near as many fires as one would expect in a larger community.
He said because the volunteers don’t get a lot of real-world experience, it was vital to have training tools such as the new software.
“We don’t get a tremendous volume of structure fires,” Woodland said. “What this does is allow us to simulate a higher level of activity. A department that rolls up on four structure fires a week, doesn’t need to spend a lot of time teaching their people how to read smoke and things like that. We don’t have a high volume so this allows me to pass on decades of experience.”
Woodland said after an initial demonstration of the new software, he received positive feedback from his volunteers about the technology.