Department of Defense facilities are some of the most challenging and educational locations for first responders: there, any kind of emergency scenario is possible. Firefighters and EMTs at DoD sites must be prepared for anything, whether commercial and residential structural fires, industrial or chemical fires, aircraft fires, fuel depot accidents, or the consequences of natural disasters.
Aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) use during firefighter training is a special concern. When it comes to Class B fires, where lives and critical infrastructure are in danger, foam has no substitute. Firefighting foams are essential in cases of aviation accidents, hydrocarbon fires, and on military bases. So ARFF training isn’t complete without training in the use of firefighting foam. But in many areas—either due to health concerns, environmental concerns, permitting issues, local restrictions, or high costs—training with actual foam is not possible.
How do you prepare your teams to fight those fires using these essential tools?
Firefighting Foam Training—Without the Foam
Every day, more firefighting agencies—including air bases, airports, and aircraft rescue and firefighting teams—fill this gap in training with FAAC’s Pump Ops simulation system. PumpOps fire training simulators teach firefighters how to flow water and mix and deliver foam—without spilling a single drop of water or foam concentrate. It also prepares them for what happens when things go wrong, recreating troubleshooting opportunities to handle fault states or failures. FAAC will build your PumpOps units to perfectly match your existing or preferred apparatus: top-mount or side-mount with the same physical size, panel layout, and OEM gauges, switches, and other hardware—so the hands-on learning is immediately applicable, without translation or other mental gymnastics.
You can pair PumpOps with immersive fire suppression and hose training accessories to simultaneously lead both pump operators and nozzle teams through integrated single-scenario training. The pump operator adjusts the flow and, through force-feedback actuators and VR goggles, the nozzle team feels it and sees it all. In a variety of simulated scenes, firefighters experience visibility issues, hose pressure variance, communication difficulties, equipment failures, and more. These integrated firefighting simulators can emulate water or foam used at different concentrations, delivered through variable spray settings or branch types. Similarly, PumpOps can integrate with other training simulators—like fire vehicle training, command and control, and more.
