Each year the International Fire Training Centre (IFTC), based at Durham Tees Valley Airport, train approx. 10,000 firefighters in a purpose built facility which includes a 19 acre fire ground, where they burn kerosene for black smoke/hot fires, plus on-site accommodation for the firefighters.
As well as firefighters from the UK, the IFTC welcomes visitors from around the world including Europe, Middle East, Nigeria, Canada and Caribbean. Firefighters of all ranks from the Aviation, Industrial, Off shore/Oil and Marine sectors of industry visit to gain essential skills and experience in tackling aviation fires and other emergencies.
IFTC are the UK’s first and only airport fire training business to be awarded Approved Training Organisation status by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. This means that ICAO recognises the quality of the CAP 699 training that you get at IFTC so you can be confident that your crews are meeting national and international standards of learning.
In addition to ICAO, they also have JOIFF, OPITO, MCA and Skills for Justice Awards Accreditations, plus they have recently been awarded the Queens Award for Enterprise : International Trade, based on the courses delivered to overseas clients.
Ricky Wilson, Instructor at IFTC said,
“We offer both open and closed courses to the UK and overseas aviation fire training market with students from the aviation, Offshore and Industrial sectors using IFTC as their chosen training centre. This includes a wide range of aviation related exercise scenarios incorporating internal Class “A” fire along with external fuel spill and pressure fires.
We use JET A1 aviation kerosene, giving off a huge amount of calorific value and intense radiated heat. Offshore/Industrial applications include internal Class ”B” fires, as well as non-fire emergency conditions requiring manoeuvring through confined spaces, some water logged and immobilizing and recovery using rescue-lifting equipment.
Within IFTC aviation sector we have utilised Ruth Lee dummies for many years in a wide variety of simulated, albeit very realistic, training scenarios. We have tried various weights and use additional protective exteriors to help prolong the life of the dummies as they are used almost every weekday and in some cases several times a day in a wide range of environments.
The skill is where to place the dummies so as to provide a realistic challenging rescue for the fire service without bringing the dummies to a crisped and early retirement! We regard the manikins as consumables, but their life span is an important factor. Dressing the dummies in our old fire kit and choosing their location wisely certainly helps to prolong life, educating our staff regarding the need for prolonged life also helps!
Ruth Lee provides a good quality training dummy that withstands the continuous and arduous training sessions provided throughout the year.”
