By Callum Ludwig
Virtual reality training sessions are helping Seville CFA members prepare for the bushfire season, with the devices equipped with 70 different firefighting scenarios.
The technology was developed by a CFA firefighter and has been introduced to CFA training statewide over the last 12 months.
Seville CFA community relations officer Liz Hudson said it is a fairly realistic experience from the feeling of wearing breathing apparatus to the pressure of the hose.
“The hose has a nozzle on the end that feels like the hoses we use, and once you turn it on, the air pressure makes it feel as though the hose is really turned on,” she said.
“It mimics everything, your movements, putting water on the fire and you can teleport yourself around, to the back of a house or shopping container or anything like that.”
The technology is used in 34 countries around the world and CFA has 11 of these training sets.
Deputy Group Officer of the Yarra Valley group of fire brigades Paul Spinks is clued up on virtual training and said the training kits have been very popular.
“It’s been focused on more of a younger generation that is much better with this technology and interacting with a virtual reality world and they are really enjoying it, but what we are really noticing is a lot of our wiser members of brigades are really starting to enjoy this sort of technology as well,” he said.
“It’s given us another element of training away from hazardous environments. Instead of being at risk of harmful smoke say at a service station, we can simulate that in the virtual world. That’s the great thing about different innovations within firefighting and it’s even being used in the army as well, it’s the new generation of training and it’s been really well accepted throughout CFA.”
Some examples of scenarios that can be practised include putting out a mining tipper on fire, dealing with the engine of a Boeing plane that has burst into flames of combatting a grass or bushfire.
Seville CFA has also been busy elsewhere, with nine members soon to take on the Melbourne Firefighters Stair Climb on Saturday 10 September.
Ms Hudson said not quite as much has been raised by the brigade as last year, but they are still excited.
“Last year, we were in the top three or four highest-donators until the week of the climb. The last two years was the virtual stair climb where we couldn’t actually do the real one, so our members have been training this year,” she said.
“Usually on the last weekend of the fundraising, they double any donations that are made.”
Supporters can donate to Seville CFA’s efforts here: www.firefighterclimb.org.au/station/cfa/seville/
