The area burned by wildfires in the United States has grown each year for the past two decades. Increasingly, responding to wildland fires means staging large, multi-agency operations. The need for comprehensive, effective wildland fire response training is obviously more pressing than ever.
But it’s virtually impossible to effectively train for wildfire response. In fact, some research indicates that many traditional approaches used to prepare wildland firefighters actually decrease their safety and effectiveness. The core issue: firefighters generally know what to do in a wildland fire, but may not be prepared to access that knowledge in the heat and chaos of the moment.
Good simulation-based firefighter training allows responders to safely acclimate themselves to the unique emotional challenges of accessing complex skills-based knowledge in the midst of a chaotic and rapidly evolving emergency.
Simulation Training Solutions for All Fire Scenarios
Simulation training makes safe, comprehensive wildland firefighter training possible—at your convenience and without taking any equipment or firefighters out of service.
FAAC has an established track record for delivering effective, realistic, and accurate firefighting simulations that cover a host of potential situations, risks, and vital wildland firefighting skills. In many cases, a single hardware cab simulator can be used to simulate a variety of different vehicle types. Every FAAC fire training simulator includes wildland fire modeling and forest fire spread simulation capabilities, as well as a powerful suite of trainee assessment and learning tools, so that every session can be as productive as possible and best contribute to overall student growth.
FAAC offers a full-range of networkable fire training simulators, including Driving, PumpOps, EMS, and more. Simulators are customizable and can be built to order using real panels, levers, and other OEM-specific hardware. The included simulation software realistically models fire behavior, vehicle and equipment dynamics, weather and environmental conditions, and even the differences in water or foam flowing in varying conditions and concentrations.
Every simulator arrives with a full library of scenarios, ranging from “fundamentals,” skills-focused evolutions, to complex, immersive, emotionally challenging scenarios that test a firefighter’s skills at split-second decision-making, communication, scene management, and more. Throughout any scenario, the trainer can pause, rewind, redirect, or modify conditions (e.g., trigger a pump fault, change visibility, alter weather conditions, introduce bystanders or wildlife, etc.) Since every FAAC fire training simulator can network and interoperate, trainers have the option of creating large group, full-battalion, and multi-agency training sessions.
