The family Breugelmans' training centre can be found within the industrial estate in Roermond. It's an impressive site which has clearly been tackled in a grand manner. FireWare came up with the design and organised the realisation of this unique training centre in 2012. More than 70 different scenarios within a surface area of over 800 square meters.
Each and every scenario can be separately activated via the latest control with an iPad. The control programme works entirely with unique pictograms and is therefore very simple to teach to the various different instructors. The instructor walks around with the iPad and decides where a fire or other calamity will occur at that moment in time. All scenarios have numerous different variables, which an instructor can decide on for him or herself. This certainly creates an interactive way of training! It's even possible for 4 groups of students to work in the training area at the same time, without getting in each other's way.
A total of 32 smoke machines are used in the building in order to create an ideal amount of smoke for an emergency response exercise, so not for a fire service callout! Using the FireSales Burning Smell Smoke Liquid even results in the smell of fire being added to the smoke.
The meter cupboard results in a spectacular shock effect. An explosion can be simulated here which will literally make the ground shake! This is organised by the extraordinary audio system. More than 50 speakers are used for all explosions, fire sounds, calls for help (also in the Limburg dialect) and other sound effects. These have all been processed within the ceiling, but also in the various different items of decor. The subwoofers result in the vibrating floor during an explosion.
There is also something special about the filing cabinet on the other side of the corridor. The door looks the same as any other door in the training centre. However, in reality this is one of the 10 doors which two Hot Panels have been built into. The manufacturer of the doors has pressed these panels during the production process. The wiring is fed through the hinges, which means these are completely invisible too. The operating programme on the tablet will allow you to set the temperature up to 80 degrees Celsius per panel. The fire can therefore already be felt from the outside.
An exhaust system is active throughout the entire centre, which means the smoke and smells can very quickly be removed per room or area as and when required. This allows for a different scenario to be started very quickly. Another system active throughout the entire training procedure is an ultimately luxurious camera system. All of the students' actions are carefully followed from the theory room. This means the students can analyse each other and learn from each other. And of course it's always a great deal of fun to watch colleagues react to different scenarios. The intention is therefore for the students to learn something whilst also enjoying themselves. The design of the training procedure was specially focussed on ensuring learning, having fun, great spectacles and achieving learning objectives all go hand in hand. This emergency response course is therefore no longer an obligation, but more of a day out!
