Firefighting goes virtual with driving simulator
GIBSON COUNTY, Tenn. — A number of Gibson County firefighters crashed their trucks Thursday afternoon, some of them multiple times. Thankfully, it was all part of a high-tech simulation aimed at teaching better driving skills for when they are out on a real emergency. It may look like a video game, but the driving simulator is as real world as it gets for firefighters. Almost all of them crashed at least once, hitting barriers, cars and even a pedestrian. But they say learning from those mistakes in a virtual environment prepares them for when it’s needed most. “Just getting to the fire or a medical emergency or vehicle accident is just as dangerous as a firefighter entering a structure and going into a fire,” Jeremy Martin with the Tennessee Fire Academy said. Thursday, first responders got a high-tech look at ways to get themselves to your rescue safely. “The only way you can do it is on the job training and we can’t run up and down the road with the lights and siren practicing,” Gibson County Fire Chief Bryan Cathey said. “So this simulator gave us time behind the wheel.” The simulator takes firefighters through a number of scenarios from simply stopping at a stop sign to almost being run off the road by on-coming traffic. “If they make a mistake it’s nothing but rewind and let them learn from it and do it again,” Martin said. One of the toughest scenarios the simulator offers is when a ball rolls out in front of the truck and a young child runs after it. 9 out of 10 firefighters did not notice the child. “If a child slips down and falls out in front of you, you’ve got to be able to stop,” Chief Cathey said. “It’s a very real scenario.” Firefighters said although it is virtual the lessons they learned will stick with them on every call. “If we don’t get there safely we’re no good to anyone,” Cathey said. “If we have an accident on the way that’s a second situation and it would be very tragic.” The simulator will be in Gibson County for training until Sunday. It is owned by Tennessee’s Fire Academy and can also do simulations for EMS and police departments. The cost for bringing it here came out of the department’s training budget.
