Put the wet stuff on the red stuff

 

New live fire training structure. 

Fighting fires is far more complicated than putting the wet stuff on the red stuff. The most crucial element in battling a blaze is the skill of the firefighters. Training in real world fire conditions is vital to ensure effective response to emergencies, and, most important, the safety of the firefighters, a precious resource.

On Thursday, August 29, the Goochland Department of Fire-Rescue and Emergency Services held an open house at the Henley Fire Training Center near Maidens Road to cut the ribbon for the county’s new state-of-the-art $1.5 million live fire “burn building”.

Chief D. E. “Eddie” Ferguson, Jr. welcomed the assembly to the place where local first responders learn and practice their skills. The training center is named in honor of brothers Earl and Howard Henley, who both served as Chief of the Department and held many other service roles in the community.

Supervisors Neil Spoonhower, District 2; Tom Winfree, District 3; and Jonathan Lyle, District 5 were joined by Goochland Commonwealth’s Attorney John Lumpkins, Jr.; county officials; retired Goochland Fire-Rescue Chiefs Tommy Carter and Ken Brown; members of the Virginia Fire Services Board; Bettie Reeves-Nobles, the retired live fire training committee chair for the Virginia Department of Fire Programs and retired assistant chief of Hampton Fire and Rescue; fire officials from neighboring jurisdictions; members of the Goochland Volunteer Fire-Rescue Association board of directors; and others.

The 17.9-acre site, explained Ferguson, remained after soil was removed to build approaches to the “new” Maidens Bridge. Built of block and used to simulate real fire conditions, the old “smokehouse “built in 1981, at the time considered to be the only one of its kind in the Commonwealth, was deemed unsafe for live fire simulations in 2012. It will continue to be used as a “cold building” for passive exercises. For the past 12 years, Goochland has transported firefighters and equipment to other areas for live fire training. The new building will provide unlimited training opportunities to county firefighters and welcome neighboring departments.

1981 "smokehouse"

In the early days, Goochland volunteer firefighters burned down old buildings for live fire training. While this provided real time experience, it was one time event. The new structure—it needs a catchy name—allows unlimited repetitions of exercises and has movable interior walls to create a variety of high temperature live fire scenarios.

Ferguson said that the new modular building—the only one of its kind in Virginia—crafted from shipping containers, can provide multiple training scenarios to ensure that Goochland firefighters are prepared to function in chaotic and dangerous situations. Enhancing the level of training available locally also helps the county to earn high ISO ratings, which translate into savings on homeowner’s’ insurance for our citizens.

The building was designed to fit into limited space at the training center and can be moved.

Spoonhower, who is actively engaged in his support for public safety, said “ninety percent of being a supervisor is challenging. Then, there is this other ten percent, which far outweighs the other.” He has ridden along for a full 24-hour shift with first responders and climbed 100 feet in the air on our new ladder truck.

District 2 Supervisor Neil Spoonhower

“While I’ve always appreciated the role of fire-rescue, until I did those things I never really had an understanding of how important what we provide to our heroes is. As supervisors we have to make a lot of hard (budgetary) decisions, but the decisions we make about this are easy for two reasons. These men and women deserve to know that our community supports them and that we have their back when they go into dangerous situations. Our community demands it. When campaigning, I was surprised at how many people said that public safety is their first concern. I’m really glad we’re able to build this and hope that you never need to use all of the training.”

Reeves-Noble past chair of the live fire structure committee of the Virginia Department of Fire Programs said ”This is a building that I know, for a fact, will change the lives of the firefighters who serve here in so many good ways.”
 She recognized the local project managers Captain Brandon Proffitt and Deputy Chief Mike Watkins who were “relentless and laser focused. They showed patience and a lot of poise. They attended every meeting we had, whether they were scheduled or not to let anybody to know about questions and answers. Congratulations.”

Bettie Reeves-Noble

Proffitt, who began his fire-rescue journey as a teenaged volunteer, and is now captain in the training safety division, thanked everyone who was a part of the project for its success. It took three years of working as a team effort to make the innovative structure fit into the grant process, which changed a bit along the way.

He first thanked the supervisors and County Administrator Vic Carpenter for funding the project, a daunting task. He also thanked the county’s leadership team. “It’s been an honor working with the Virginia Fire Services Board, an opportunity I never thought I’d have to work in an environment with governor appointed positions.” Proffit thanked the Virginia Department of Fire Programs for its help in navigating the grant process.

He also thanked the team from Draeger, the Canadian company that built the structure, including engineer Trevor Flynn. Proffit said that he spent many hours trying to align Drager’s product with the Virginia grant process, which resulted in the best outcome for Goochland. He thanked Scott Foster of Goochland General Services, and Gary Fisher, Building Official and their teams, to help him navigate the construction aspects of the project. Burn buildings do not fit into the Virginia building code, explained Proffitt, which required extra work. He thanked all of the contractors who participated in the installation of the new building. “Within 12 hours we were able to plug it up and start burning,” he said.

Most of all, Profitt thanked his wife and children for their support during the intensive three-year process, which required that he spend a lot of time away from them.

“As a member of Goochland Fire-rescue since 1999 having spent a lot of time training in the building behind us (old “smokehouse”) I’ve seen a lot of firefighters come through here and go on to other careers. Goochland is like a funnel. People come in and go out. The ones that go out are either serving Goochland or other localities. It’s pretty impressive when you look back over the years and think about who has come through this place, dug out to build a bridge, and what they have done.”

Indeed, those who got their start in firefighting include Chief Ferguson, current fire chiefs in Spotsylvania and Louisa Counties, battalion chiefs in at least Chesterfield and Albemarle, and people holding leadership positions in most fire departments in central Virginia.

Deputy Chief Watkins (l) Captain Proffitt

Watkins said that Proffit deserves credit for pulling all of the pieces of the project together. The new burn building, said Watkins, will be an asset for the region. He pointed out the red shirted fire recruits in the audience. “We’re going to put some of them through the new building tomorrow and they’re probably not going to have a fun day.”

Firefighter training will be taken to a new level, said Watkins, because repetition increases proficiency. Getting the job, understanding the job, and putting those skills to work in a live fire structure is invaluable.

moveable walls

Tilted roof for climbing exercises

 

Interior staircase. Imagine descending this in the dark when it's 500 degrees, wearing bulky bunker gear and self contained breathing apparatus. 

Thanks to Goochland County for photos. 

(As the region remembers the flooding from Gaston, 20 years ago, it is worthwhile to note that Goochland Fire-Rescue water rescue units supplied mutual aid to the City of Richmond and Henrico County to rescue people trapped by high waters. One chapter in the more than 70 years of dedicated public service given by the organization.)