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Firefighters burn through new training ground

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Christopher Maldonado
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
The training grounds, which consist of a mock C-130 Hercules, structured fire trainer, vehicle extraction equipment and other training devices enable firefighters to test their readiness.

The $650,000 renovations took nearly three months to complete. Changes to the aircraft fire trainer include new pipes, wires and the right-wing assembly; the structured fire trainer received an extension of a burn room and the overall square footage increased.

“These renovations will allow the department to increase job proficiency,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Larry Diaz, 20th CES fire department training and readiness NCO in charge.

The additional rooms and shifting wall renovations to the burn house now provide a more realistically unpredictable floorplan for firefighters.

“Not all houses are constructed the same, so why should they train on only one type of home?” said Diaz. “With the walls in the building being interchangeable, the firefighter must be on their toes.”

During the first training session the firefighters worked as a team to operate sprinkler systems, ventilate rooftops, and perform search and rescue operations.

The training area creates advanced training scenarios that 20th CES or Sumter County firefighters of various skill levels may encounter while on- or off-base- a partnership made possible by a mutual aid plan that allows Shaw firefighters to respond to off-base structure fires within a five-mile radius.

“These experiences were intended to be difficult but rewarding for the new firefighters coming in,” said Airman 1st Class Bronell Brown, 20th CES firefighter apprentice. “To be able to say, ‘I overcame these challenges and worked together to do so,’ is the biggest take-back from today’s events.”