Workplace Safety: FIRE 

Regional Emergency Training provides VR fire extinguisher safety training to a range of clients, predominantly in the healthcare / hospital industry – including around 1000 staff members of their local hospital each year.

Testimonial

Andrew Bishop, Owner and Operator, Regional Emergency Training, Wodonga, Victoria, Australia

Transcript

 What is your name and organisation?

I’m Andrew Bishop. I own and operate regional emergency training based in Wodonga and we specialise in all levels of first aid training,  fire warden training, in fire extinction training, confined space training, breathing apparatus training, so forth.

What challenges has FLAIM helped you solve?

FLAIM has allowed me to provide the training in any sort of weather conditions, whereas gas training can’t be done on total fire bands or if it’s raining or so forth, it doesn’t matter.

My training can go ahead at the client’s site, no matter if it’s a major facility with hazardous gases or so forth, we can continue our training safely on their site.

Has FLAIM helped your organisation save money?

I do believe it has helped in saving money because I not having expenses to go out and buy a gas unit, and then continually having to replenish the gas supplies.

What do your clients say about FLAIM?

My clients have absolutely loved it. People that have been very wary about putting on the headset – by the time they’ve had a go, I’m having trouble getting it back off them. Everyone has said it’s really good involvement. It puts them into the environment so as they can get the feel as though they’re actually there putting out the fire scenarios that they have.

What features do your clients like the most?

I think it’s drawing in the customers because there are so many different scenarios that we can offer instead of just standing there pointing an extinguisher at a box. And once again, it doesn’t matter what the weather’s doing at the time, our training can go ahead no matter what.

What industries are your clients mainly from?

So the major clients I’ve been offering it to have been food production facilities and also healthcare facilities.

The healthcare facilities especially love it because we’re offering different types of hospital wards and they can actually get in and do some proper firefighting in there.

Tell us about a key client: Albury Wodonga Hospital.

How do you conduct their training? How many people do they train?

They’re doing their theory, but they’re doing it all on online. And then I’m just going in doing their practical component, just, you know, a time thing, because otherwise I’ve got them for a full day.

This way I can run two courses a day and get, you know, up to 20 people through per day. At the moment they’re looking probably 900 to 1000 (in a year). I’ve got work already booked in right through till Christmas.

What do clients say when they start using the system?

The feedback is, it’s great. It’s just, it’s wonderful. It’s a good experience for them and they’ve actually gotta get around and do some real firefighting techniques, and get in underneath the beds, you know, the hospital beds and so forth to be able to put those fires out.

Any final thoughts?

I’d recommend the FLAIM product because it doesn’t matter what’s going on outside. You can still go ahead, give people some good training. The FLAIM system doesn’t allow for unrealistic firefighting techniques. It’s not an endless supply of firefighting suppressant, and even if you go too quickly with the, the sweeping motions, it won’t put the fires out, so it’s good to be able to coach people to slow down and, you know, give them the proper techniques to put a fire out correctly.