A colossal red vehicle was parked in the parking lot of the Stuart Fire Department last weekend. The Interior Fire Attack Simulator gave firefighters from several communities a chance to practice situations they would face while combatting house fires. The 30-foot trailer includes live fire, smoke, and temperatures reaching up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Stuart Fire Chief Mike Renslow tells Raccoon Valley Radio, this is the most active simulator in the country, and the department had to reserve it six months in advance. Renslow tells Raccoon Valley Radio how the department was able to fund the training at no cost to the City. “That (the funding) is done through the volunteer firemen’s training fund. If you see a fireman with firefighter plates on their personal vehicle, they pay an initial fee to have those plates. Half of that money goes to the Veterans Association and half of it goes to the volunteer firefighter’s training fund.

The simulator costs just over $500,000 to use, and includes three trainers to help facilitate its operation.  Firefighters from Bagley, Earlham, Greenfield, and Dexter joined Stuart in the training. This exercise is part of 30 hours of training for the department this month. To hear more on this and other topics at the Stuart Fire Department, listen to today’s Let’s Talk Guthrie County program.