The Department of Homeland Security has awarded Wilson (N.C.) Fire/Rescue Services a $684,000 fire prevention and safety grant to produce an advanced training program for North Carolina fire inspectors using virtual-reality software. After pilot testing, the software program will be distributed free of charge to 2,500 fire departments nationwide.

Wilson Fire/Rescue is working with the Commission on Fire Accreditation International, the International Code Council and Delmar Publishing to build the training package, which will employ “synthetic environments” for the major occupancies identified in the ICC Fire Code.

The virtual-reality component of the training will be developed by Reality Response, a subsidiary of Advanced Interactive Systems Inc., and will allow a fire inspector to “tour” a variety of high-occupancy buildings from a desk. Fire department members will be able to learn potential fire dangers throughout a range of different occupancies without having to physically visit the building until it's time to conduct a real inspection. The program also will include generic structures to give participants the ability to learn the essentials of the ICC Fire Code, conduct fire inspections and prepare for certification as a fire inspector.

A nationwide panel of experts will create the curriculum and course content, which will be pilot tested in Wilson and a few other beta sites. When complete, the training product will include a CD-ROM and instructional support materials that can be used right in the firehouse.

The software is expected to be ready for beta testing in six months and the project will be complete within a year, according to Wilson Fire Chief Don Oliver.

“It's exciting because this is something that we're going to be sharing with other departments,” Oliver said. “There's going to be 2,500 copies going to other fire departments, and then it's going to be pushed out to the states.… It's going to benefit the entire country.”

The long-range goal of the program is to enable participants to prepare for certification at a nationally recognized level and to recognize standards in a cost-effective manner, said Rob Carnahan, a retired fire chief from the Clackamas County (Ore.) fire department working as a consultant for Reality Response.

The project initially will provide computer desktop-based training, but more immersive training with large-screen projection and sensored devices are down the road, according to Reality Response.

“The software technology will provide fire agencies small and large the ability to train fire ground leaders to a national standard, erasing a common criticism leveled at the fire service by its public safety partners,” Carnahan said.

Reality Response plans to develop more fire service training VR products using the same platform. Wilson Fire/Rescue and Reality Response plan to demonstrate an early version of the software in the Environmental Systems Research Institute/Hewlett Packard booth at Fire-Rescue International. For updates on the project's status, contact Carnahan at robcarnahan@verizon.net, Oliver at doliver@wilsonnc.org or Sarah Lee with CFAI at sarah@cfainet.org.