BRODHEAD - On April 19, school bus drivers serving the Brodhead, Parkview and Albany school districts participated in realistic fire safety training at the Kobussen Buses terminal in Brodhead.
As part of the training, firefighters Trent Gerber and Shane Neils of the Brodhead Fire Department filled a school bus with a water-based theater smoke to simulate conditions that an onboard fire would create. School bus driver Val Zintz of Brodhead had only moments to evacuate the 30 other school bus drivers from the smoke-filled school bus.
The exercise was more challenging than expected: Zintz could not see the passengers, and the passengers could not hear his instructions very well. He had to use his hands to feel the seats to make sure they were empty as he moved down the bus aisle.
Hands-on training of this type gives school bus drivers the tools they need to handle any situation in the unlikely event of an emergency. Safety of the passengers is always the top priority and this is just one way to experience it.
School bus drivers also employed fire extinguishers to douse the flames on a propane-fueled training device provided by the Brodhead Fire Department. Gerber provided instructions on the proper use of a fire extinguisher, using the PASS method: Pull out the pin, Aim the nozzle at the base of the fire, Squeeze down the handle and Sweep at the base of the fire.
To aid with the realism, S&B Tubing of Albany donated a 20-year-old school bus seat. A paper bag with three sheets of newspaper was placed on the seat and ignited as part of the demonstration. It took only moments for the entire seat to be engulfed in flames, emitting a large plume of black smoke over the entire parking lot, attracting the attention of area neighbors.
Drivers were amazed at not only how quickly the seat began to burn but how much thick black smoke came out of it, demonstrating that in an emergency, every second counts.
The school bus drivers will share their experiences with school children when they conduct school bus evacuation drills on the bus routes.
As part of the training, firefighters Trent Gerber and Shane Neils of the Brodhead Fire Department filled a school bus with a water-based theater smoke to simulate conditions that an onboard fire would create. School bus driver Val Zintz of Brodhead had only moments to evacuate the 30 other school bus drivers from the smoke-filled school bus.
The exercise was more challenging than expected: Zintz could not see the passengers, and the passengers could not hear his instructions very well. He had to use his hands to feel the seats to make sure they were empty as he moved down the bus aisle.
Hands-on training of this type gives school bus drivers the tools they need to handle any situation in the unlikely event of an emergency. Safety of the passengers is always the top priority and this is just one way to experience it.
School bus drivers also employed fire extinguishers to douse the flames on a propane-fueled training device provided by the Brodhead Fire Department. Gerber provided instructions on the proper use of a fire extinguisher, using the PASS method: Pull out the pin, Aim the nozzle at the base of the fire, Squeeze down the handle and Sweep at the base of the fire.
To aid with the realism, S&B Tubing of Albany donated a 20-year-old school bus seat. A paper bag with three sheets of newspaper was placed on the seat and ignited as part of the demonstration. It took only moments for the entire seat to be engulfed in flames, emitting a large plume of black smoke over the entire parking lot, attracting the attention of area neighbors.
Drivers were amazed at not only how quickly the seat began to burn but how much thick black smoke came out of it, demonstrating that in an emergency, every second counts.
The school bus drivers will share their experiences with school children when they conduct school bus evacuation drills on the bus routes.