Structural Damage/Safety Issues

Safety Considerations for Live Fire Training Structures

• Is your burn building safe? How do you know?
• How effective is your training?
• Is your training structure protected by a sacrificial thermal lining system?

Shown below are pictures of failed linings, and damaged structures. Once a lining fails, training structures are vulnerable to damage. Many linings are unable to handle the extreme thermal shock, and expansion and contraction that occurs in burn rooms.

When a material is heated or cooled to extreme temperatures, and then suddenly subjected to oppositely extreme temperatures (water) the material reacts by expanding and contracting. Ultimately, the material may not allow it to adjust so quickly causing expansion cracks, spalling, and crazing.

Structural damage can occur behind failed insulation boards.

We cannot overemphasize the importance of the structural integrity of the training structure. Failing structures are a serious threat to the health and welfare of training personnel. Associated risks can be addressed and eliminated.

Class A Live Fire Training:

A typical “Class A” loading, including a bale of hay and two to four wooden pallets, will develop temperatures of about 200 degrees Fahrenheit near the floor and about 1000-1500 degrees near the ceiling.

Fire hoses are capable of delivering hundreds of gallons of water per minute at pressures of generally 50-100 pounds per inch.

Some of the water immediately converts to steam, expanding 1700 hundred times its volume. This can be a critically dangerous environment for both the firefighter as well as the structure.

This pressure plays havoc with the firefighters and the building and creating thermal shock.

What do you need to do?

A. Always get the NFPA recommended annual structural survey.

B. Always protect your structure.  Please consider our advanced structural protective linings.  We believe the best thermal lining system is a “floating” refractory liner installed over a rigid insulation barrier.  This type of system offers resistance to mechanical abuse while providing excellent thermal protecting to the structure.

System 203 fire tiles are installed over a layer of calcium silicate insulation board.  The fire tiles protect the insulation which serves as your thermal barrier.

Ask the right questions and get the right answers.