It’s summer season in the Northern Hemisphere and wildfires have been raging in Greece, Madeira and France.
As the risk of forest fires changes in a hotter climate, so is the way firefighters respond to them.
Traditionally firefighters have practised with live fires to prepare for the real thing.
But these come with risk, cost and damage to the environment by way of air pollution and water use.
The Fire Service College (FSC) in Gloucestershire, which trains UK and international fire services, has increasingly been using virtual reality to train crews for the real thing.
The headsets play gaming-like scenarios of wildfires for trainees to tackle.
Thomas Dexmier, assistant vice president of enterprise solutions at HTC VIVE which makes the headset, said: “It enables trainees to learn, practise and make mistakes in a safe, risk-free environment, with endless repeatability, and importantly, build confidence.”
Pic: FLAIM Systems
Pic: FLAIM Systems
The kit includes a haptic vest that generates heat, to give an idea of how someone will perform when working in real heat.
A haptic hose that replicates the weight and feel of a real hose.
And when you open the hose branch (the lever that turns on the hose) in the VR, it turns so heavy it makes you lurch with the weight.
The idea is to trick the body into believing the scenario is real, and engaging the senses aides memory.
It makes your body “believe you’re there”, according to Mr Dexmier.
Mick Dewer had beads of sweat running down his face after completing an exercise
Mick Dewer, who had just tried out the kit for the first time at the…
