Albemarle County Fire Rescue is conducting a “Live Burn” exercise this week. Using a property near the Dunlora subdivision, which is scheduled to be demolished for new construction, crews will be provided realistic training with actual fire. During this exercise, personnel will practice the ACFR Field Operations Guide, a set of tactical guidelines established to provide a consistent approach to emergency incident management. Specifically, crews will focus on the proper, rapid, and safe deployment of a hose line.
Live-fire training is an example of significant partnerships with other departments within the County as well as regional agencies. ACFR coordinates with the Police Department and the Office of Community Relations to help inform citizens about the training and mitigate calls regarding the fire to the Emergency Communications Center (ECC). They also work to ensure that dispatchers at ECC know to disregard calls that come in related to the training fire. The Community Development Department assists with site plan reviews and permits. Donations to the fire department for live-fire training benefits the department, developers, and the community. It allows crews the opportunity to drill in a realistic, controlled environment; eases the cost of demolition for developers; and ensures that demolition occurs safely and legally.
“These lifelike trainings are extremely valuable for the Department and the community,” said Scott Lambert, Training Division Chief, Albemarle County Fire Rescue, “Live-fire training provides the opportunity for firefighters to develop the skills necessary to think critically and clearly and to solve problems quickly during an actual fire or other emergency event. The community benefits with well-trained and experienced emergency responders.”
This “live burn” exercise is implemented and overseen by the ACFR Training Division, which is responsible for assisting local departments in improving the levels of education and training standards for firefighters and emergency responders. The Division manages a program of training and certification for over 500 personnel in Albemarle County. The program involves developing standards for training, testing and certifying at all levels including: firefighting, emergency medical services, fire department management, and specialties including apparatus operator, hazardous materials, and technical rescue. The Division also administers the quality assurance and quality improvement program for our career personnel, as well as overseeing their release to function at emergency incidents.
The exercise began Tuesday and will continue Wednesday and Thursday in cycles at the top of every hour from 8-11 a.m.
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