On Friday, October 4, Salem Firefighters from Battalion 2 (Group 2) trained on fire behavior, reading, smoke, flow path, and understanding the modern fire environment. The purpose of the training was to better understand how fires in modern structures burn.

The training was a joint effort between Battalion Chief Paul Balentine and Lt. Gerald Mackey. The training began with a PowerPoint and discussion on the above topics, followed by live fire training with a prop aptly named, “the doll house.”

The prop was set on fire and different theories related to fire behavior, smoke conditions, flow paths, and ventilation options are demonstrated in real time. The demonstration is conducted on a small scale, so it is easy to illustrate in front of an audience of firefighters.

Fires in the modern day burn differently due to the construction methods of modern homes along with modern furnishings which are comprised of synthetic materials which have different, much higher heat release rates than “legacy” home furnishings. In the modern fire environment, a room transitions to “flashover” in as little as 3 ½ minutes, whereas the legacy room doesn’t flashover for 29 ½ minutes. Flashover is the point in the room where everything ignites at once and survivability is zero even for firefighters with proper firefighting PPE.

The Salem Fire Department emphasizes the importance of having working smoke detectors on every level of your home, outside the bedrooms, and inside every bedroom. We also strongly encourage homeowners to have CO detectors on every level of the home. If you have a fire in your home, get out, stay out, call 911 from outside/a neighbor’s house.