Hector has new Fire Training Facility May 29, 2000

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The North Dakota Air National Guard began training from a new fire training facility designed by Pro-Safe Fire Training Systems of Ottawa, Canada. Construction of the $850,000 facility began last year and was completed earlier this spring.

The fire training facility is a mock-up of an aircraft that is 50 feet long. The unit operates on liquid propane and it has the ability to ignite the propane from numerous spray nozzles that are located throughout the unit and also from nozzles embedded in the ground. Fire can be simulated from the wings, tail, cockpit, cabin, cargo hold, battery compartment, and brakes/wheels. The burn area under the mockup is 4,200 square feet and is used to simulate a ground fuel fire. Some of the nozzles have the ability to shoot flames up to 60 feet in the air. The unit has two wings at different heights and engine configurations to simulate many aircraft types, both military and civilian. There are no environmental hazards concerning this facility because it uses clean burning propane for its fuel.

An operator in the fire control tower uses a control panel to ignite the fire called for by the fire chief on the ground. The fires can not be put out by the firefighters. The blaze is fought until the fire chief determines the proper technique was used. The operator in the fire control tower then turns off the fire.

The Federal Aviation Administration requires at least once every 12 months that each airport firefighter participate in a live fire burn. This facility will be available as a training aid to other area fire departments. The training facility is a great asset to Hector International Airport and the North Dakota Air National Guard.