Does anyone train at their local playground?

I've heard of some departments doing SCBA training at a local park. They have their guys crawling up, through, around, in and out of the tubes & slides & ladders.

If you have done it what is your opinion of that training. Do you view it as effective? Do the guys like doing it since it is a little different?

Have you had any issues in regards to damaging any fire dept equipment or park equipment? That would be one of my concerns. I know that sometimes firefighters can get a little rough and aggressive. Our town paid over $140,000 for a new fancy playground set a few years ago and I would not want to cause any damages to it.

Thanks,

John

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Permalink Reply by Aaron Robbins on May 3, 2009 at 8:10pm
Permalink Reply by Capt. Jeff Lee on May 3, 2009 at 8:24pm
We ran this drill about a month ago at our local playground. Ran a 200' rope through various obstacles, up & down stairs, tight narrow bends, tunnels, etc. Some of the areas the firefighters had to actually remove their air packs to go through. This was done in full PPE on air & with masks blacked out. Everybody that went through it loved it. Some even wanted to go through again, and they all asked how soon we were going to run this drill again. There was no damage to either the playground equipment or ours. We had a blast with this drill. Also had some of the public hang out and watch us work, great PR
Permalink Reply by Jason Brooks on May 3, 2009 at 10:41pm
We have done this several times. Try out the different playgrounds in your area. The size of the equipment varies based on the ages of the kids. We find that the elementary schools are the most challenging. We have never damaged the equipment either.
Permalink Reply by Cody W. Nelson on May 3, 2009 at 10:54pm
We do not, but that might be something to try. Thanks!
Permalink Reply by paula beckham on May 9, 2009 at 6:30am
i would highly reccomend doing it we use the local high schools set up its got lots of diffrent things slides chain walkways and the like and at the moment it being winter and all its nice and dark so we dont need to black out and when we get back its hose runs in full gear its a very good exercise
Permalink Reply by METALHEAD on May 9, 2009 at 8:26am
the playground drills are cool. we had a larger playset/climb around at the local college. good for confind space or hand line advancement. scba doth and donning works well if you have the tunnel. have fun!

beech
Permalink Reply by Daniel Stout on May 9, 2009 at 10:20am
My station has a park attached to it. We have used the play structure multiple times for SCBA and Search drills. The training has worked well because it is outside the normal environment. We have strung hose line and ropes into the play structure to give different experiences.
Permalink Reply by Sarah Tinsley MacKenzie on May 10, 2009 at 9:41pm
i actually reckon its quiet good because they have some real awkward obsicles but its a good training method for getting people use to going into small places and stuff,
Permalink Reply by Fireyladd - Retired Chief Sharp on May 10, 2009 at 11:04pm
Capt, yes, we did this drill a few weeks ago. One of my Officers saw the video about the drill here and asked me if we could give it a try. First of all I couldn't stop them from wanting to do this several times. The drill was a good opportunity to train with SCBA, working as a team, following a line without sight and a good physical activity. There was no damage done to the fully wood playground structure nor where there any problems occurring from using the equipment on the structure.
Everyone enjoyed the drill and we plan to do this more often. I would have to say I recommend anyone giving this a try. Might want to check with your parks people first rather then do this and someone get their feeling bent out of shape because you didnt check with them first. Al in all a great drill.
Permalink Reply by Pete Rizzo on May 12, 2009 at 8:53am
Hey John,
Great discussion thread. Playground landscapes are ideal for a number of training scenarios. As mentioned earlier the proper care against damage and permission for use should be exercised. I have used several playgrounds for confined space rescue training. Line management (air, comm, main and belay line rope) is one of the challenges that should be practiced and a basic playground provides a good simulation. For a different perspective try a night time evolution.
Good luck with it
Riz

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