You may have seen scaffolding set up outside the fire station in Rothesay during the month of November.
It was a prop to help firefighters become better prepared to handle emergencies in multi-storey buildings.
“Over the last few years, we’ve been starting to get more and more of these buildings,” Shawn White, division chief of safety and professional development for the Kennebecasis Valley Fire Department, said in an interview.
“In an effort to be proactive and make sure that we’re able to handle any type of emergency that may develop in these buildings, we have to stay on top of it.”
You may have seen this scaffolding prop set up outside the @KVFire station in Rothesay over the past few weeks.
No, there’s not a new building going up here. But this scaffolding is helping firefighters to be better prepared to fight fires in certain newer buildings. pic.twitter.com/OYTc96dhZK
— Brad Perry (@BradMPerry) November 24, 2021
Rothesay and Quispamsis are seeing a growing number of multi-storey residential buildings in their communities — a positive sign of growth.
However, that comes with potential challenges for firefighters, who are not used to battling fires in these types of buildings.
“With the size of these buildings, that’s going to be a bit of a challenge. It’s going to take us a little bit longer to get to the fire,” said White.
But certain features in these buildings also aid firefighters in the event of a fire, he said. They are constructed with fire suppression equipment and fire detection systems, and many contain sprinkler systems.
Rothesay and Quispamsis are seeing a growing number of multi-storey residential buildings in their communities — a positive sign of growth.
But with that comes potential challenges for firefighters, who aren’t used to battling fires in these types of buildings. pic.twitter.com/KbyxPgvWnw
— Brad Perry (@BradMPerry) November 24, 2021
White said the three-storey scaffolding structure simulated the stairways and hallways found inside these buildings, giving firefighters an idea of what they could be up against.
“From that setup, we now can utilize standpipe connections that we couldn’t normally do. We couldn’t train on them before,” he said.
This year, the department made a $30,000 investment in new equipment and specialized training geared specifically toward multi-storey buildings.
White said the scaffolding structure allowed members to train while on duty instead of having to travel elsewhere.
“We would have to go outside the area to get this training. That’s going to incur a bit more of a cost because once we take our crews out into another area to train, we have to make sure that we have people here to be prepared to respond to emergencies,” he said.
White said the training is part of the department’s “three lines of defence” strategy, which also prioritizes public education and fire code enforcement.
Division Chief Shawn White says the scaffolding structure simulates the stairways and hallways found inside these buildings.
The department also built a standpipe prop, allowing for realistic hose connections during the training. pic.twitter.com/5MkKAr1gS8
— Brad Perry (@BradMPerry) November 24, 2021
