Students learn how to put out a fire
Specialized equipment simplifies lesson for Iowa Central classBy BILL SHEA, Messenger staff writer
Article Photos
The fire leaping from the metal box sent waves of heat shimmering through the air, challenging the group of community college students to stop it.
One by one the criminal justice students from Iowa Central Community College stepped forward to accept that challenge. They grabbed fire extinguishers hesitantly at first, but each of them snuffed the billowing flames.
Some of those students used an extinguisher for the first time during the Friday morning training fires on the Fort Dodge campus. They got that initial experience in a safe environment using a new machine that was delivered to the college's Homeland Security Training Center about two weeks ago.
''It's a pretty new experience,'' said Shelly Conklin, a sophomore criminal justice major from Fort Dodge.
''It was easier than I thought,'' she added. ''It was a good experience.''
Conklin had never used a fire extinguisher before. Thanks to the new machine, she was able to learn without facing a real, out-of-control fire - or the pan of flaming diesel fuel used for generations in fire extinguisher classes.
Scott Kuester, the college's fire science program coordinator and the chief of its fire brigade, said the extinguisher trainer is a vast improvement over past methods.
''It's a lot cleaner, a lot easier and the cost is a lot cheaper,'' he said. ''Most importantly, it teaches them how to use a fire extinguisher the right way.''
The machine consists of a stainless steel box attached to a small propane tank. A control box held by the instructor manages the flow of propane and the volume of flame it creates. The computerized device automatically shuts off the fire if the student properly directs the extinguisher's stream to the base of the flames.
With the new machine, training is done with extinguishers filled with pressurized water rather than dry chemicals. Kuester said that saves the college a lot of money because it costs $30 to $35 to refill an extinguisher with dry chemicals.
The device is made by BullEx Digital Safety of Menands, N.Y. It costs about $9,000, according to Mike Burke, director of the Iowa Central Homeland Security Training Center.
The 36 Iowa Central students who used the training machine Friday were in the Perspectives of Homeland Security class. That course prepares students to be part of a Community Emergency Response Team whose members can provide lifesaving help before professional rescuers arrive.
According to Joe Wright, coordinator of the college's criminal justice program, the Community Emergency Response Team program is a national one that increases personal awareness and responsibility in crisis situations.
College fire science students assisted with the class.
Contact Bill Shea at (515) 573-2141 or bshea@messengernews.net
