California firefighters use cutting-edge simulation tables to train for large wildfires
Keeping up with the complex nature of California’s wildfires takes a lot of training and CAL FIRE is always updating their academy with cutting-edge simulation technology.
Since 2019, CAL FIRE trainees at the Company Officer Command and Control Academy have been utilizing simulation (sim) tables to provide the most wildfire incident scenarios possible.
Recovering from tragedy: Camp Fire survivor and town look to rebuild five years later
“The SIM Table allows instructors to incorporate pre-plans, maps, real-time visual of fire activity and radios into scenarios,” CAL FIRE wrote to FOX40.com in an email. “The SIM table allows the instructor to adjust and scale the incident to the student’s capabilities and allows them to push the student’s capabilities but not overwhelm.”
SIM Table, the company that provides the hardware and software for the training tool, says that scenarios can portray wind speed and direction, terrain, slope and fuel type to create a truly real-world training experience.
California’s wildfire detection tool among TIME’s ‘Best Inventions of 2023’
CAL FIRE currently uses SIM Tables at all three of the CAL FIRE training centers and is featured in their Company Officer Academy, Fire Crew Captain Academy, Initial Attack Incident Command, Heavy Fire Equipment Operator Academy and more.
“The SIM Table allows students to experience the stressful environment of being the Incident Command on a fire while still in a controlled environment,” CAL FIRE wrote. “The SIM Table allows them to feel the anxiety and pressures they will encounter in just a few weeks when they become Company Officers.”
Fire protection grants available to California communities
The SIM Table also trains future officers on how to work with other incident commanders during a large wildfire incident and share knowledge.
According to CAL FIRE, in the Company Officer Academy, students won’t use the SIM Table until their final weeks of training as they practice the new tactics they have learned during the academy.
Wildfire, Containment and Air Attack? This is what these and other wildfire terms mean
“In our student evaluations, many students share that the SIM Table is the moment everything “clicks” and all their training comes together or that the SIM table really helped to understand what it feels like to be the Incident Commander,” CAL FIRE wrote to FOX40.com.
So far, the SIM Table has been used in almost 40 academy classes and is also being brought outside of the classroom for public education.
Placer County to begin restoration of Mosquito Fire burn area
“SIM Tables are often borrowed from the CAL FIRE Training Center and used by Incident Management Teams and Units,” CAL FIRE writes. “They are often used as a planning tool or in community outreach. The SIM Tables can be used to show historical fires, fire predictions or simulations under particular conditions.”
The company says that the system can be used by fire agencies to plan out the most effective fire mitigation and fuel break measures.
World’s largest civil firefighting aerial fleet seeks maintenance in Sacramento
Fire agencies also have access to SIM Table’s animated fire progression maps that allow trainees to view the progression of past fires or crews in the field to see the progression behavior of active fires.
CAL FIRE operates over 20 units across the state, hosting the world’s largest civil firefighting aerial fleet and is responsible for protecting over 31 million acres of California’s privately owned wildlands.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40.
