NFPA Journal - Summer 2023 - 19

and supplement live-fire training to better prepare
a candidate, " Ranganathan said. " If you simulate
driving a firetruck 500 times, then go do the actual
driving, you are acquiring a lot of muscle memory
that will likely make the real thing a little easier. "
The investigation pointed to a number of other
52.8m GALLONS
Amount of flame
retardants dropped on
federal, state, and
private land in 2021
benefits associated with VR, such as exposing recruits
to more complex and difficult scenarios without the
usual associated risks to health and safety. VR can also
save money, and in some cases may produce better
simulations, according to focus group members.
For i
nstance, incidents involving emerging hazards,
such as energy storage systems or electric vehicles,
may be difficult or cost-prohibitive to simulate in a
live training, especially for dozens of rotations. In the
virtual world, however, these barriers can be overcome
simply by downloading new software.
But VR is also not without its drawbacks, the experts
said. For one, no matter how good the simulation, it will
never compare to the complexities of a real incident,
which could give firefighters trained in a simulation
a dangerous false sense of confidence. Other possible
weaknesses that focus groups identified were a lack
of standardization for immersive training, the likely
need for academies to invest in more tech support and
personnel, and possible cybersecurity threats related
to the new equipment and technology.
To read the comprehensive literature review and
a report on the focus group observations related
to the immersive learning project, visit nfpa.org/
ffimmersivelearning. A third report with proceedings
from the immersive learning summit will be
available later this summer.
G39m
ALLONS
Annual average amount of
flame retardants dropped
in the previous 10 years
Source: Los Angeles Times
RESTRICTING RETARDANTS?
A federal lawsuit seeks to end the use of aerial
flame retardants to fight wildfires
By Jesse Roman
A
federal lawsuit is
seeking to stop the
U.S. Forest Service
from dropping
flame retardants
into waterways, a move that could
have a significant impact on how
the agency battles wildfires.
The suit, filed by a group called
CONFERENCE SESSIONS
How Immersive Learning Technologies
Can Help Ensure Firefighter
Trainee Safety
Date
Tuesday, June 20, 2-3 p.m.
Speakers
Kenneth Willette
North American Fire Training Directors
Casey Grant
DSRAE, LLC
James Moore
University of Illinois Fire Service Institute
the Forest Service Employees for
Environmental Ethics, claims that
the retardants are not effective
at putting out fires and that they
get into water systems where
they are harmful to aquatic life.
The practice, the suit claims, is a
violation of the Clean Water Act
because the Forest Service is effectively
discharging pollutants into
U.S. waters without a permit. The
Forest Service has dropped 761,282
gallons of retardants into national
forest waters on at least 459 occasions,
the suit alleges.
Reaction has been swift. In California,
Butte County and the town
of Paradise, which both suffered
huge losses in the 2018 Camp Fire,
have filed a motion supporting
the Forest Service. Legislation has
also been filed in Congress that
would exempt firefighting agencies
from requiring a Clean Water
Act permit.
" We lost our town to one of the
biggest fires in California. The fire
would've spread even further had
they not been able to " drop retardants,
Paradise Mayor Greg Bolin
told KRCR, a television station
based in Redding, California.
In addition to its potential
environmental impacts, the ethics
group claims that the retardants
are expensive and used more
for show than as an effective
firefighting tool. " There's no scientific
evidence that it makes any
difference in wildfire outcomes, "
Andy Stahl, a forester and member
of the Forest Service Employees
ethics group, told the Los Angeles
Times. " This is like dumping cash
out of airplanes, except that it's
toxic and you can't buy anything
with it because it doesn't work. "
Flame retardants, which
are typically ammonium phosphate-based,
are intended to
deprive the advancing fire of
oxygen, slowing it enough to allow
ground crews to mount an attack.
According to the Times, scientific
studies have found that ammonium
phosphate is dangerous to
aquatic animals, and retardant
drops are suspected in significant
fish kills in California.
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NFPA Journal - Summer 2023

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