Fire Department builds chamber for training

The department purchased a Flashover Chamber July 25 for about $35,000 through a partial grant from the Federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program and about $10,000 from the city. The chamber is a laboratory for firefighters to study flashover – an explosion that occurs when heat from a fire accelerates too fast and a room’s combustibles and walls produce too much heat for the structure to withstand.

Flashover is one of the leading causes of firefighter deaths or serious injuries, according to a news release from the department.

Fire behavior will be observed from three feet below the chamber’s floor. Firefighters will use their observations to determine warning signs for flashover and methods for delaying an explosion.

The chamber, developed by the Swedish Rescue Services Agency, is located behind the fire station at 1405 S. Scenic Ave.