Area-14 Training Facility

The creation and development of State Fire Rescue Training (SFRT) Area-14 Training Facility, has occurred of many years, operating in different capacities. In the late 70's the local water & sewage board abandoned a 12-acre site, which is now the SFRT Area -14 Training Center.

It had been a waste treatment center since the early 30's consisting of 12 acres, including woods, creek, and multiple structures. The next 15 years through local governments, emergency departments, Fire Rescue Training and the Kentucky Fire Commission, it was developed into a regional training center. This training center was one of the first of its kind and size in the state.

In 2000, the property was purchased by the Fire Commission from local city government. It now consists of a 3 acre lake, 65' 6 story drill tower, multiple classrooms, maintenance area, office, AV Lab, resource library and ¼ acre collapse building scenario. (see below for more description)

Multiple agencies and departments including but not limited to health services, the Kentucky State Police and other law enforcement agencies use our facilities. It is available to use by any groups or agencies and emergency services training.

The 65' tower can be utilized for various fire service classes. Such classes as high-angle rope rescue, aerial operations, multi-floor firefighting operations, and even team building, can be held here. The tower has multiple anchor points, and various openings and obstructions, allowing different type of rope-rescue training evolutions.

Besides being used by various fire, rescue, and EMS agencies, the training tower has provided a place for school students, boy scouts, and other people of the Commonwealth, to use. The tower is an ideal location where self-confidence and team building skills can be gained, allowing people to overcome their fear of heights.

The classroom facilities, located in the main building, will accommodate both small and very large groups. The latest A/V equipment on the market is available to provide high quality training delivery, along with numerous supplemental training materials (VHS, DVD, books) from FETN, American Heat, Working Fire, and many other popular fire, rescue, and EMS publications.

In addition to the classrooms, the main building houses staff offices, a full kitchen, restroom facilities, the A/V lab the media library, and two-bay area, which can be used for indoor training, vehicle storage, large social gatherings or additional classrooms.

One of the newest additions to the training center is the collapsed building area. This structure provides an endless amount of training evolutions when working with a collapsed structure or a confined space incident.

Adjacent to the collapse building area, there are numerous vehicles and machinery staged for vehicle stabilization and extrication. The vehicles range in size from small passenger cars, all the way to a full-size school bus. This area allows techniques to be demonstrated and practiced teaching the latest techniques and tools used for vehicle and machinery extrication.

Located throughout the grounds of the training center are numerous other buildings and areas utilized for training. The woods provide for a wilderness search and rescue location, the rolling

Mobile Training Props of Area-14

The Commonwealth of Kentucky, like many other states in the U.S., is primarily composed of volunteer and combination departments. In fact, of the 21,000 firefighters in the Commonwealth, approximately 84% of those are volunteers. So what's the big deal? The concern is being able to deliver quality training to those members who do not have the facilities to conduct the needed hands-on training.

That's no excuse for the firefighters in Kentucky, a concept that has been working for quit some time. Kentucky's State Fire Rescue Training operates a large mobile training fleet, which is supplemented by many units from regional associations throughout the state.

Mobile training provides fire departments the opportunity to have props and quality training that they may have never had before. It's like taking a fixed prop or training facility right to their own department.

Some of the mobile training props that Area-14 offers include:

• Flashover chamber
• Firefighter survival and rescue trailer
• Flammable liquids and gases (FLAG) props
• Smoke maze
• Extrication trailer
• Rope Rescue trailer

Flashover chamber

The flashover chamber is one of two State Fire/Rescue mobile flashover training props, which can be found in the Commonwealth. These units, which were built by Swede Survival Systems, are the first of it's kind. The 30' mobile prop provides firefighters the opportunity to observe fire behavior, see warning signs associated with a potential flashover, and use various techniques that may

The course, usually presented in an eight-hour program, begins in the classroom setting with two - three hours of instruction, followed by the students getting hands-on training in the flashover chamber itself. Inside the chamber, students observe the dynamics of fire growth, learn about rapid-fire development, see and feel the effects of an impending flashover.

The flashover trailer is primarily designed to teach firefighters about the phenomenon of flashover, but many other lessons can be taught in this controlled setting. Some of which being how and why a fire develops, suppression techniques utilizing hose stream applications that allow aggressive cooling of fire gases and heat, and how heat and fire gases appear on the screen of a thermal imaging camera.

The response to this training has been all positive. Comments such as “It's an ideal way to teach younger firefighters, and veterans, how to identify a potential flashover, preventing them from becoming injured or even killed in such of an event.” and “Every firefighter should go through this training”, reinforces why such training is being offered.

The firefighter survival and rescue mobile trailers have provided training to literary, thousands of firefighters across the state. These trailers, which take an average of twenty to thirty minutes to set-up, provide the environment required to be able to delivery the Firefighter Survival and Firefighter Rescue programs.

The courses consist of training exercises that can be completed on the first and second floor, through restricted openings, up and down stairs, and even out windows. The course, designed for sixteen hours of instruction, is a mandated program for any new firefighter wishing to join any fire department. The first eight hours deal with self-survival and the last eight hours incorporate skills required to “save our own”.

This mobile trailer is light enough to be pulled by vans, light-duty, and heavy-duty trucks. Once the trailer arrives at the training destination, instructors begin the set-up process by chocking the wheels, release trailer hitch from vehicle, remove any tow straps, and level trailer using the jacks that are attached to each corner of the trailer. Once leveled, instructors position steps for stairwell, raise and secure wall for second floor operations, and place handrails around second floor and stairs.

The FLAG prop provides the emergency responder the training necessary to mitigate such an incident. Utilizing liquefied petroleum gas, trained instructors, who can control the growth of the fire, teach students extinguishing techniques of the flammable liquid and gases through actual fire scenarios. Students learn extinguishing agent selection and application, while responding to a flammable liquid fire. A simulated propane tank along with a Christmas tree, and other flanges or simulated broken pipes are used to create the realism of a FLAG fire. Safety officers can stop any operation by remote control that might be hazardous. Set-up is minimal, but it does require the support of gas company , providing the LPG.

The smoke maze trailer consists of two stories (modified) and a roof, designed to use for search and rescue training. The 35' trailer is easily arranged to provide varied search situations that includes the elements of varying degrees of darkness, smoke, noise, and flashing lights. Training sessions consist of several rescue exercises of varying difficulty and complexity. For example, first time students may enter with good visibility to conduct search and rescue operations, while more experienced students may be confronted with multiple victims, total darkness, and obstructions requiring advanced SCBA maneuvers.

The smoke maze trailer allows the student to increase his/her confidence of wearing and operating self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). The SCBA confidence course emphasizes various levels of physical stress. The physical exertion simulates the stress and tension that a firefighter may experience in a real situation, while searching a structure, carrying hand tools, or movement in restricted situations encountered in a burning building. Controlled breathing, teamwork, and safety when moving though scuttles, joists, stairs, and tunnels are stressed.

There is very little required to set-up with this prop making it very user friendly. Instructors have used this mobile prop at local fire departments, regional schools and the state fire school, making it a very popular prop.

Extrication trailer

This 18' trailer is a self-contained unit. Whether it is a vehicle or machinery extrication, this trailer is stocked with all of the tools and equipment, able to perform advance extrication techniques.

From hydraulic rescue tools to assorted hand tools, from cribbing of different sizes to chains, ropes and any additional support equipment one might need. No set-up is required for this trailer.

The rope trailer like the extrication trailer is a self-supporting 18' unit. Containing the latest hardware used for high and low-angle rope rescue. This trailer is stocked with life safety rope, webbing, carabiners, descent devices, ascent devices, rope grabs, pullies, and much much more. No set-up required for this training prop.

Additional mobile trailers and props

In addition to these mobile training props, SFRT Area 14 has the ability to provide additional training props located throughout various regions of the state. Such training props include; state of the art farm rescue props, a burn trailer, a confined space trailer, Urban Search and Rescue trailer, mobile forcible entry prop, and a ventilation trailer.