In the middle of the North Holland Dune Reserve lies Camping Bakkum: the ideal location for a large-scale, multidisciplinary wildfire exercise. FireWare was asked to assist with the staging early on and successfully executed this in October.
Wildfire next to a campsite
A wildfire right next to the campsite, a cloud of smoke sweeping over it, and thousands of campers needing to be evacuated: this was the scenario that Gerry Koerts from the North Holland North Safety Region presented to us. Over six months in advance, we sat down together, but the final scenario could only be determined on the morning of the exercise.
20 smoke machines
Creating a lot of smoke? We can do that! With 20 smoke machines, we simulated a massive fire front. But Mother Nature cannot be controlled. If you want the smoke cloud to move over the campsite, you must account for wind direction. That’s why we prepared multiple scripts for setting up the staging materials. This way, we stayed flexible and could easily choose the best setup in the morning.
Power supply
Twenty smoke machines require a lot of power. Luckily, Camping Bakkum had sufficient high-power connections. However, we chose to use a generator, so we could quickly adjust the material setup without needing to move kilometers of cables.
Volunteers
The smoke cloud was impressive, but realistic staging for a multidisciplinary exercise requires more. Around 250 volunteers participated, with many acting as victims. Campers had to leave their beloved spots because of the imminent danger. Naturally, everyone reacted differently: compliant, emotional, or resistant. But the campsite had to be cleared.
Sound completes the exercise
Of course, we ensured that smoke alarms went off in the buildings, and evacuation alarms were heard throughout the campsite. This not only created a realistic scenario but also made it harder for responders to focus on their tasks due to the cacophony of sounds. At FireWare, we understand how powerful sound can be during an exercise. You cannot ignore sound—it always grabs attention and forces your brain to react. This increases stress levels and brings participants closer to the experience of a real incident. This is our goal: preparing people for a wildfire with a large-scale evacuation.
Successful
The result was a fantastic exercise. All emergency services met their training objectives. The campsite was successfully evacuated, and the wildfire was extinguished.
