Narration: Nearly 20 firefighters with U.S. Army Garrison Japan’s
Directorate of Emergency Services recently completed a two-day course to
familiarize themselves with a training facility that incorporates real fire,
and to certify them to be able to manage the facility so that they can train
their fellow firefighters.

Interview: Richard Graeber, System Trainer-Consaultant

Narration: The trainees first received classroom instruction on general fire
safety and national safety standards, a requirement to be certified as fire
training instructors.
They also received instruction on how to prep the facility’s so-called “burn
room” with ignitable material and how to properly control the blaze once
it’s been lit, so that firefighters can safely train on the necessary
skills, functions and tasks while inside the room.
After that, the firefighters moved to the training site and walked through
the inside of the structure and confirmed their operational positions for
their eventual live training portion.

Interview: Richard Graeber, System Trainer-Consaultant

Narration: The trainees were divided into two groups in order to experience
a live blaze in the burn room, where temperatures can reach between 800 and
900 degrees Fahrenheit and there is zero visibility. To test their ability
to manage the burn room effectively, the trainees were timed on their
ability to enter the structure, extinguish the blaze, and exit—all while
dealing with 250 to 300-degree temperatures in an elevated container.

Interview: Masahiro Watanabe, Firefighter/Trainer, DES, USAG Japan
It was very physically demanding to operate and maintain the facility during
the training.
Going into the facility and extinguishing the fire wasn’t as difficult since
we have experience with that as part of our normal firefighter training.
But having to manage an actual fire by controlling the ventilation of air
from the outside and not letting the blaze grow too large was very
challenging.


Interview: Jun Tonami, Firefighter/Trainer, DES, USAG Japan
The heat and smoke from inside the facility were more extreme than I
expected.
We are trainees right now, but once we complete this course, we will be
certified as trainers with the responsibility of teaching our fellow
firefighters how to properly navigate this facility.
So when we conduct this training in the future, I want to be extra cautious
to prevent any injuries to our firefighters.

Interview: Interview: Richard Graeber, System Trainer-Consaultant

Narration: Beginning next year, the firefighters will use the facility to
conduct training on at least a monthly basis.
Reporting for U.S. Army Garrison Japan, this is XXXX XXXX.

Tags

AMCUSAG Japan