In November of 2022, crew, commanders and officers on duty from the cluster South and officers on duty from cluster Midden of the Gelderland-Midden Fire Department participated in the large-scale, monodisciplinary, cooperative exercise "de Lindenhof" in Wolfheze. FireWare was also present and responsible for the staging and control of various fires.
In recent years, FireWare and Safety Region Gelderland-Midden have considerably intensified their relationship in the area of large-scale exercises. For example, cluster exercise "Proeftuin" took place in November 2019 and, after a practice break due to corona, our staging specialists were engaged again in late 2021 to support the large-scale exercise firefighting in Herveld. This year no less than six practice evenings were scheduled. The emphasis of this exercise was for the teams on the execution of the deployment and for the commanding officers and the OVD on the mutual cooperation of the firefighting units.
Scenario
A fire broke out in the Lindenhof residential and work complex in the Pro Persona care area in Wolfheze. The Lindenhof has a wooden structure and the building is in poor condition. As a result, the fire spread rapidly. Residents are still in the building and in need of assistance. However, due to demolition work, emergency exits are blocked.
Due to various renovations, it is unclear how the building is constructed. The emergency services therefore face a considerable challenge with the evacuation. Moreover, a large scale-up is needed to fight the fire.
Quick switch
During the exercise, there was close contact between the FireWare staging specialists and the exercise staff. This made it possible to switch quickly to the assignment of the exercise leaders. During the firefighting deployment, an accident between two vehicles occurs a short distance from the building. One occupant became trapped. Another victim is injured and runs toward the fire in a panic to report the accident. Does the scenario escalate? Then staging is also switched up. Is and remains the extinguishing deployment correct? Then we switch off the flame simulation at the signal of the exercise staff.
How is it done?
The Pro Persona building had been vacant for some time and was allowed to be set up as a temporary fire training center. Cumulus and Stratus smoke machines were used to stage the large fires in the rooms. A tactical placement of Phoenix Silkflames behind each window provided a realistic flame picture. On the roof, the smoke machines were connected to perforated smoke hoses to spread smoke over a 10-meter line. Several FireSpots colored this smoke. Our staging technician operated the exercise equipment remotely from a central location. This allowed good visibility of the staging at all times.
The entire staging was non-destructive. At the end of the final day of filming, we were able to return the premises spotless.
The final exercise lasted 1.5 to 2 hours. From the clusters there were four fire engines, an aerial platform, an OvD and a water truck deployed each night to fight the fires. In addition, several Lotus victims were involved in the exercise.
Watch the video
Afterglow
Numerous fire stations were able to work on their professional skills in a highly motivated manner. Our special thanks go to Henk den Rooijen and Ron Kampschreur for awarding the assignment, the security guards on site for their support and to Pro Persona for making the premises available. We look back very positively on a very successful cooperation!
Do you also have an exercise in mind where our staging technicians and rental fleet can make the difference? Please contact us. We are happy to think along with you in terms of possibilities!
