Used to be you’d have to go away to college- even Fire College in Gravenhurst- now, Fire College comes to you, as witnessed locally with the Ontario Fire College Mobile Live Fire Training Unit (MLFTU).
Ontario launched the first of two new MLFTU’s in December of 2021.
The Arnprior Fire Department applied to have one of the units for use to train its firefighters within hours after applications were made available.
(It should be noted that these units are provided at absolutely no cost to municipalities.)
Arnprior Volunteer Firefighters had access to the unit for 5 days.
Training was extremely well attended. OFC Instructors provided an experience that captured the imagination and engaged the recruits, while offering realistic challenges to exercise the skillsets of veteran members.
The 16 metre long unit, built by Dräger in Kingston, offered multiple areas to accommodate a variety of training scenarios.
The propane fueled unit allows for live fire training and uses theatrical smoke to simulate zero visibility conditions. The unit also allows for the simulation of a residential fire on differing occupancy levels and meets et critical job performance requirements outlined in National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) training manual.
By Rick Stow
