Cleveland Volunteer Fire Department
P. O. Box 602
Cleveland, MS 38732
(662) 843-3159
Training Facility
The CVFD Training Facility began with a donated house moved to the facility located at the south end of Noblin Road. The house was set up as a smoke house prop and members staged it just like the inside of a typical house including a kitchen, living room and bedrooms. Originally steel barrels were cut in half and used as smudge pots to smoke up the house. Today artificial smoke machines are used for safety reasons and the original building has been turned into a duplex with one side serving as a classroom setting. Over the years, the CVFD has added numerous other training props and buildings to the facility and regularly uses this faciltiy to train for different scenarios. Below is an aerial view and legend to explain where the props are located. Each prop is shown below in more detail.
Legend
1 - Smoke House/Classroom
2 - Drafting Pit
3 - Storage Building
4 - Confined Space Prop
5 - Storage Building
6 - Ventilation Prop
7 - 3-Story Training Tower
8 - Forceable Entry Prop
9 - Class A Burn Building
10 - Search & Rescue Building
Smoke House
As stated above, this was the first structure to be used at the Training Facility. Today, one side still remains as a smoke house and the other side is utilized for classroom training.
Drafting Pit
The Drafting Pit consists of a buried water tank which is baffled and vented with two drafting points. It was primarily constructed to assist with pumper testing but can also serve a dual purpose to train on drafting techniques that might be used for a mutual-aid call.
Storage Building
This metal building was erected by the CVFD to house the department's facility grounds equipment, miscellaneous equipment, and the CVFD grill.
Confined Space Prop
This prop was contructed by the CVFD as a means to properly train its members on manuvering and operating in a confined space situation.
Storage Building
This building was construced by the CVFD to primarily serve as a storage facility for support equipment of the Burn Building and Repelling Tower.
Ventilation Prop
This training prop gives the department the ability to practice vertical ventilation with a realistic pitch roof and also requires members to use ground and roof ladders. This adds to the realism of the training so the members are better prepared for on-scene roof work. It has a replaceable roof panel that allows for easy replacement of the cut-away section. This prop also has a section on the back that allows training on removing window bars and various locks and hasps.
Training Tower
This prop was originally built as a wood-frame 3-story repelling tower by members of the CVFD. In later years the department enclosed the tower, connected it to the burn building, and built an interior metal staircase to allow the building to be used for more than just repelling. The building now lends itself for smoke training in a multi-story scenario, ladder rescue training, rope rescue training, and down firefighter training.
Forceable Entry Prop
This training prop was constructed to allow for training on how to make quick and effective entry through a locked door.
Class "A" Burn Building
The CVFD recognized that having a "live" burn scenario training prop was essential to basic firefighter training. They worked with the City of Cleveland to develop and construct a Class "A" Burn Building that would allow firefighters to conduct multiple live fire training excersises in a safe and efficient manner. This building is attached to the Training Tower and consists of four rooms with a "plus" shaped hallway between them. One room is the burn room with heat shielding and temperature monitoring equipment. Another room is equipped with movable walls to create an easily changeable layout. The other rooms are open but furnished with various furniture, appliances, and an entanglement prop.
Search & Rescue Building
This training prop was constructed to teach search techniques to firefighters in a controlled setting. It has partitions that can be moved around to create different floor plan configurations.
Flashover Simulator
The newest training prop to be constructed was a 1-room flashover simulator. It enables the instructors to furnish it in a typical living room setting with sofa, chair, curtain, etc. Once the room is ignited in a controlled setting, students can watch the fire progression and learn how to recognize the same fire behavior on a real fire scene. This prop is also used in the department's fire prevention programs so that children can see how fast fire progresses and actually be able to watch a firefighter put out a live, burning fire.
