VIDEO/PHOTOS: Clackamas Fire Department is getting some major upgrades thanks to virtual reality or VR.
The station's brand new VR simulation program was funded by the State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) grant. The department is now the second fire agency to use this program in the U.S., a department in Oklahoma was the first.
“When you go into a virtual space, your brain thinks you’re actually in there and it’s pretty compelling," Division Chief Rick Huffman told KATU. “What we would do is use a scenario that is extremely high risk, that doesn’t happen very often and is hard to train on.”
Huffman says there's not always a lot of opportunities to train on specific scenarios that don't happen in Oregon everyday, and the new VR headsets help fill that gap.
KATU-TV ABC 2 Portland
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PHOTO: On May 15, 2024 at approximately 5:05 pm, Portland Fire & Rescue was dispatched to an area along the railroad tracks near Sellwood Riverfront Park for an individual who was reportedly climbing a steel powerline tower at this location, was electrocuted, and then fell forty feet into some bushes on the ground below. Per PGE, the line at the top of this tower was a 57,000 volt powerline. Per one witness, this individual was attempting to take a selfie photo when they fell. Another witness told dispatchers that they heard a “transformer blow” and then saw a person fall from the tower to the ground. Per an off-duty paramedic who was on scene when the fall occurred, the individual—in a stroke of incredibly good luck--was conscious and breathing immediately after the fall.
City of Portland
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VIDEO: In seconds, firefighters for Marion County Fire District 1 are out of their truck, hooking up a hose and lugging it into a field.
"When you call, the public calls, we want to be there and get to moving within 60, 90 seconds," said Kyle McMann, fire chief for Marion County Fire District 1.
This is week two of training for McMann's firefighters who are preparing for wildfire season, which is typically May through August. Training is critical for these crews, as they're structural firefighters the remainder of the year. About ten minutes down the road from the fire station, state agencies from across Oregon met at the capital on Wednesday to discuss the impending wildfire season.
"July, August, September — that’s really the three-month stretch," said Chris Cline, Fire Protection Chief for the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF).
KGW-TV NBC 8 Portland
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