Make wishtv.com your home page

Homes go up in flames as part of firefighter conference

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – A week of fire training and development is set to start Monday and homes throughout the area are ready to go up in flames in the name of education.

One home in Boone County has an elaborate set up inside. Equipment includes pressure and velocity sensors to tell researchers where the most dangerous conditions are inside a home during a fire. Those sensors provide about 250 channels of data.

Instructors say firefighters are often battling fires started by older fuels and older structures, so trainers teach outdated concepts and principals. New information from the exercises will help create updated tactics to save lives.

“We’re going to light them on fire and instrument the building so we can show firefighters how rapidly fires with modern furnishings spread and grow, especially with these synthetic fuels,” said Daniel Madrzykowsk, fire protection engineer.

The data from homes set on fire this week will eventually be turned into a report and shared with firefighters around the world.

Workshops start at 8 a.m. Monday at the Indiana Convantion Center. FDIC events continue until Saturday.