Chelsea Fire Department gets driving practice, new equipment

During the month of August, Chelsea Fire Department took a few steps toward improving the service they provide to the community.

The fire department trained with the Alabama Fire College’s driving simulator, a trailer that travels throughout the state and provides a virtual reality driving experience to firefighters.

“It lets you drive, and you have all the safety checks as when you drive [in real life],” said Captain Brad McCain, training officer for Chelsea FD.

The simulator can be programmed to depict urban, suburban or rural environments; brings about real life obstacles such as cars that do not stop, red lights and livestock; and can be set for multiple weather conditions.

“It’s very helpful to new employees … without putting a million dollar apparatus on the road,” said firefighter Andrew White.

For long-time employees, the simulator offers a refresher course in driving their vehicles. They also go through on-scene protocol, including where the apparatus should be parked, McCain said.

“It gives them a lot of experience without putting them on the road,” said Eric Bradley with Alabama Fire College.

Chelsea Fire Department also got new thermal imaging cameras (TICs), which will help firefighters when they respond to calls, said Fire Chief Wayne Shirley.  The department has used handheld TICs in the past, but the new cameras are attached to firefighters’ air packs, freeing up their hands for other necessary tasks.

A TIC is used in rescue settings to locate people, to check for hot spots after a fire is extinguished and to find the hottest spot of a fire.

Previously, they would send a team in with one TIC, McCain said. Now, more fire fighters will have them on their air packs for personal safety. The fact that these are hands free is also a benefit, White said.

“If you were to be crawling around in a house, it’s good to have both hands are free,” White said, adding that this way the TIC also cannot be dropped.