Valdosta Fire Department participates in Live Burn Training
On Tuesday, May 28, 2019, the Valdosta Fire Department conducted a live burn training exercise at an acquired structure at 613 New Hudson Street. The VFD worked diligently over the last three weeks to ensure the house was up to standards and safe to conduct a live burn. In order to ensure the safety of the firefighters, Windows, wiring, doors, and other items were removed from the home for this exercise. According to the VFD Training Division Lieutenant Justin Ply, the live burn exercise is a helpful, hands-on way for firefighters to practice with the many different variables that come with a house fire.
âThis is the best training the members of the fire department can get, while also being the most dangerous." The reason this is the most dangerous is that this is as close to a real, unplanned fire as one can get. This is the first time in two years the Fire Department has been able to conduct this training event,â said Ply.
Usually, the training events are at the VFD Regional Training Center, at 137 Blanchard Street. The VFD Regional Training Center provides courses for education and training of all fire department personnel. The training center also conducts specialized classes for business and industry that relate to firefighting, such as fire extinguisher use. Valdosta's center houses one of the 11 training burn buildings in the state. Among other essential training, each member of the Valdosta Fire Department is trained to the highest level of Hazardous Material training offered by the State of Georgia Fire Academy.
