COLORADO SPRINGS– Firefighters are using a new tool that resembles a sandbox like children play in to learn more about what a fire can do and where it can go. Simtable visited the

New ‘sandbox’ tool gets firefighters into the terrain

Colorado Springs Fire Department to set up the 3D interactive fire simulator that literally brings a wildfire to life. In a matter of minutes, the giant sandbox and advanced computer simulations are all set up and that’s when the hands-on learning begins. After figuring the slope of the area we get a good understanding of what the topography is like, a fire is then started at the exact location of where a real wildfire is burning to track its movements, wind speeds and direction can be plugged in to see what the fire will do next.

We get to look at a fire as if we were in an air attack platform, one of the airplanes circling looking down on it.  –  Bob Harvey, Lead Instructor at the Colorado Wildfire Academy

Bob Harvey is the lead instructor at the CO Wildfire Academy and uses the Simtable to trains firefighters. “So now we have an air tanker drop, and we’ll see if the wind and the topography will let it hold,” he said using the simulator. The Simtable helps him figure out where they need to bulldoze and where to send fire crews. Of course the wind is always a tough variable but Harvey says the tool is extremely accurate. Simtable even shows firefighters what the fuels look like in the area. Some of these fuels will burn hotter and faster than others. The simulator shows neighborhoods and which areas should be evacuated. It also displays roads, allowing law enforcement to know where to set up roadblocks. It’s currently being used by fire crews to help battle the massive Wallow Fire in Arizona.

After the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the State of California began using the Simtable to prepare for a tsunami on the west coast. Fire departments can also use the tool to track chemical plumes during a hazmat situation.

(KUSA-TV Multimedia Holdings Corporation)