FIREFIGHTERS stepped into a virtual reality world to tackle a wildfire blaze and hone their skills.
Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service hosted an international training exercise with partners from France, Italy and Portugal.
The event at West Hartford Fire Station was the first in the UK to use virtual reality simulation to manage wildfires.
The training tool could now be rolled out across partner countries.
A virtual reality simulation tool was used to train fire incident commanders in the command and control of large-scale and complex wildfire incidents.
The training tool allows incident commanders and fire officers to develop a realistic virtual reality environment, using the partner agencies and aerial resources from other European countries.
Paul Hedley, chief fire officer at Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service said: “We are proud to have been involved in the development of this virtual reality training tool along with our international partners and to also be the lead service in the UK for tackling wildfires.
“Wildfires can have devastating effects and it is paramount that we know how to manage and suppress them effectively when they arise, which we are able to do through the use of this training tool.
“This tool allows us to work with all areas of command and our international agencies to co-ordinate the effective management of a wildfire.”
The Initiative for Global Management of big fires through Simulation (IGNIS) programme project is funded by the European Commission through DG ECHOs Civil Protection Financial Instrument.
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