A grant sought by the fire department will help fund a $29,000 "burn trailer" to give firefighters hands-on training in a controlled environment.
Fire department Capt. Wes Butterfield said the mobile training trailer will enable firefighters to practice, among other vital tasks, donning air packs, entering and exiting burning buildings and calming fires with a fine spray in a simulated exercise."This is a good, all-around training facility. It gives you a wide variety of areas to train on, " Butterfield said. "It really tests the firefighters, especially the new ones."
In the past, firefighters were able to practice dousing flames on decrepit barns and condemned houses, City Manager Tom Hardy said. Now, because of environmental concerns, that type of training has been halted, he said.
"We can't do actual fires for training anymore," Hardy said. "But think how better off we're going to be in a simulated, controlled environment."
If the city receives the grant offered by the department of Utah Land and Forestry in conjunction with Utah Valley State College, the city will need to fork over $14,000 from the City Council's contingency fund to pay for half of the trailer. The grant will pay the other half.
Before grant requests are finalized and delivered, Hardy said, the fire department needs the City Council to promise financial backing for the fire training device. Plans to make a bid for the grant and buy the trailer are in its initial stages.
"We need authorization to act as if we are already going to get the money," Hardy said.
Mayor John Cushing wholeheartedly endorsed the plan to chase after the grant.
"As I review this I find its hard for a firefighter to learn without ever being in a simulated situation. I think we owe it to the firefighters to OK this motion," Cushing said.
Council woman Barbara Holt agreed.
"The city ought to apply for the grant," she said. "We really do owe it to the city."
Hardy said the trailer would not be used to certify Bountiful firefighters.