SOUTH HADLEY — An investigation into the cause of an explosion that injured two student firefighters and an instructor last October during a training exercise in South Hadley has led the state fire marshal to institute several changes to prevent such accidents from happening again.
The explosion took place Oct. 4 during fire suppression training inside a Massachusetts Fire Academy training trailer at South Hadley District #2 headquarters on Woodbridge Street. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries from the explosion, which blew out the windows and rear doors of the trailer, which is formally known as the Mobile Live Fire Training Unit.
The fire department runs occasional simulated trainings using several trailers from the academy for different emergency situations. The trailers, comparable in size to an RV, used propane gas to fuel three different props that include a stove and a bed inside the trailer that firefighters practice putting out.
The injured firefighters and safety officer were inside the trailer when an unexpected ignition of propane gas caused a flash fire and explosion, according to State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey.
A subsequent investigation of the explosion by state police assigned to the Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit found that the training accident occurred when a pilot light was unintentionally extinguished. This allowed an unknown quantity of gas vapor to build up inside the trailer. When the stove prop was lit, the accumulated gas also ignited and caused an explosion, investigators found.
While the firefighters were treated for minor injuries, Ostroskey announced several changes to ensure the safety of student firefighters during future simulations.
The recommendations were made after a review of the operational procedures that day and in general by the Department of Fire Services and Massachusetts Firefighting Academy. Pro-Safe Fire Training Systems, which makes the props used in the training exercises, was also involved in the investigation.
“While firefighting is an inherently dangerous job, there is no higher priority than the safety of our students,” Ostroskey said in a statement.
Among the recommendations are:
Several technical changes to the props to increase safety;
Have Pro-Safe provide an operator training course in how to safely conduct the training exercises.
Develop a detailed set of standard operating procedures and create a quick reference guide to be housed in the trailer’s control room.
Implement a more stringent record-keeping requirement on all live fire training exercises.
A few of the report’s suggested changes have already been made to the props. The remainder of the preventative measures will be implemented before students begin to use of the training units again, according to the fire marshal’s office.
The incident in October was a rare one as the fire academy has successfully trained firefighters in the Mobile Live Fire Training Unit 3,700 times in the past 11 years, according to the Department of Fire Services. However, safety procedures can still be improved, according to the report.