It has been roughly six years since the Macon County Fire and Rescue Commission retired its last Fire Safety Trailer, and chair Dustin Pendergrass thinks it’s about time to build another. Pendergrass requested funding for the $300,000+ trailer at the May 13 Board of Commissioners meeting to help local departments provide safety education, cut insurance rates and improve recruitment and retention across the county’s fire departments.
Pendergrass did not expect the package to be fully funded, but wanted to put the idea out with a full quote so county commissioners could consider what the asset could add to the community. Due to changes in the Fire and Rescue Commission’s resolution, the commission will be able to establish a fire safety board that can raise funds for the purchase and management of the trailer. Pendergrass believes this will allow for the trailer to have a lifespan of more than 20 years with regular use, further justifying the investment. Pendergrass said he was also looking at grant offerings that could help subsidize local donations.
The trailer, a product of training equipment provider LION, would be 34 feet long, 8.5 feet wide and 11 feet tall, weighing between 11,000 and 15,000 pounds. Inside the trailer would be four rooms, one for briefing and three designed to train around a specific scenario — kitchen, bedroom and industrial. LION technology would allow for realistic simulations for various fire hazards.
Within the kitchen scenario, props would simulate stove, oven, toaster, outlet, chemical cabinet and trash can fires. A smoke detector prop and overhead heating would activate when the fires started. A television would show safety videos and a wall phone prop would simulate a 911 call. Optional add-ons would include a severe weather package to simulate local weather reports and emergency warnings for severe weather as well as cabinet and microwave fires.
In the bedroom, a door would heat and smoke to simulate a fire on the other side, while a window with a ladder could help simulate escape from a burning building. An optional wall-mounted air conditioner prop would simulate other fire hazards.
In the industrial room, which could be used for corporate safety training, props would include a sparking electric box, electrical power shut-off and a parts washer to simulate industrial fire hazards. Optional props include a chemical drum, leaking gas cylinder, and lock-out tag-out simulations.
A barebones trailer would cost $241,779 with shipping and training costs included. Pendergrass said while all add-ons would not be selected (for example, a $25,000 graphic wrap could be scrapped in favor of a cheaper, local option) the full package would cost $100,356 more to total $342,135.
“We wanted to present the trailer with all the options,” Pendergrass said, “but we’re open if anything had to be removed.” Though some of the options should be included while the trailer is being built, others could likely be purchased and added later as the trailer sees use, and the trailer could be outfitted and updated with extra LION equipment or props as time goes on.
‘Protecting lives, saving property’
The trailer is meant for members of the public rather than for local fire departments, Pendergrass said, to help train children or employees in the essential lifesaving skills that get people through disaster situations. Rather than simply being told about fires and instructed on how to respond to them, this hands-on instruction helps to reach children more responsive to active learning.
“It’s a large expense, but when it comes to protecting lives and property,” Pendergrass said, “I can’t really put a price on that. If it saves a life, it paid for itself.”
Pendergrass also believes the trailer, as an educational tool for fire safety, could help the county reduce insurance rates for public properties. According to materials from the Office of the State Fire Marshal, efforts the public is making to improve fire safety education are taken into account when determining rates.
Aside from its value as an educational asset, the trailer would also serve as a recruiting tool. Many of today’s firefighters, both professional and volunteers, had the opportunity to use the old trailer as children, according to Pendergrass. Those opportunities inspired in them an interest in both firefighting and community service, to the point they joined local departments as adults.
“I know in years past, if you had an opportunity to interview firefighters who participated in the trailer, the number would be very great,” Pendergrass said.
Lt. Chad Stone with the Cullasaja Gorge Fire Department said, “It was just a little camper with a smoke generator … a great learning tool for kids.” He said the old trailer was helpful to teach kids at fundraisers or school events how to get on the ground, call for help and not to hide.
Fire Marshal Jimmy Teem said if the Fire and Rescue Commission intended to use the new trailer in the same way that the county made use of the older trailer, it would make for a great teaching and recruiting tool, both to inspire children or to spark an interest in volunteer firefighting – even among parents.
“The one we had, we took it to the schools, we targeted K-3 students for three years before turning it over to the fire departments,” Teem said. “We took it during Fire Prevention Week, to Lowe’s and ran some adults through it, to daycare. We went to some other counties.”
“These trailers, you’ve got simulated smoke, detectors, heated doors … it simulated some of the things that could happen in a fire. It’s really a helpful tool,” Teem said.