Where there’s smoke, there’s training.

CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION, Colo. – Instructors from the Colorado Springs Fire Department training division use a road flare to light a fire during flashover training at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colo., fire training area, June, 9, 2017. Flashover training is integral to becoming a firefighter as it it gives a firefighter a front row seat to the behavior of fire in an enclosed space. (U.S. Air Force photo by Steve Kotecki)

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Where there’s smoke, there’s training.

CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION, Colo. – Recruits from the Colorado Springs Fire Department training division don personal protective gear before entering the flashover trainer at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colo., fire training area, June, 9, 2017. The Colorado Springs Fire Department is able to use the Cheyenne Mountain AFS fire training area as part of a mutual agreement of support between the departments. (U.S. Air Force photo by Steve Kotecki)

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Where there’s smoke, there’s training.

CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION, Colo. – A recruit from the Colorado Springs Fire Department training division seals the mask on his personal protective gear before entering the flashover trainer at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colo., fire training area, June, 9, 2017. The Colorado Springs Fire Department and the Cheyenne Mountain AFS often conduct joint training and operations as part of their mutual support agreement that covers the Cheyenne Mountain region of the Front Range. (U.S. Air Force photo by Steve Kotecki)

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Where there’s smoke, there’s training.

CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION, Colo. -- Firefighters from the Colorado Springs Fire Department training division seals and Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station Fire Department sit inside the flashover trainer at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colo., fire training area, June, 9, 2017. The Colorado Springs Fire Department and the Cheyenne Mountain AFS often conduct joint training and operations as part of their mutual support agreement that covers the Cheyenne Mountain region of the Front Range. The flashover trainer is used to show firefighters firsthand how fire behaves inside an enclosed space. Using a controlled amount of oxygen in a super-heated environment will produce a flashover which is the sudden ignition of combustibles that is in super-heated smoke. (U.S. Air Force photo by Steve Kotecki)

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Where there’s smoke, there’s training.

CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION, Colo. – Instructors from the Colorado Springs Fire Department training division add more fuel to the fire during flashover training at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colo., fire training area, June, 9, 2017. The fire is set inside the flashover trainer and controlled by limiting the amount of oxygen that can reach it until the flashover effect is needed. (U.S. Air Force photo by Steve Kotecki)

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Where there’s smoke, there’s training.

CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION, Colo. – Recruits from the Colorado Springs Fire Department training division set up firefighting hose while training at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colo., fire training area, June, 9, 2017. The training is designed to get the recruits to think as a team while under the stressful conditions of a controlled fire. (U.S. Air Force photo by Steve Kotecki)

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Where there’s smoke, there’s training.

CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION, Colo. – Recruits from the Colorado Springs Fire Department training division prepare to enter the three-story fire training building at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colo., fire training area, June, 9, 2017. For the recruits this was their first training operation that involved a live fire simulation. (U.S. Air Force photo by Steve Kotecki)

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Where there’s smoke, there’s training.

CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION, Colo. – A recruit from the Colorado Springs Fire Department training division carries hose up a flight of steps while training at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colo., fire training area, June, 9, 2017. The three-story building allows for a multitude of firefighting and rescue operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Steve Kotecki)

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Where there’s smoke, there’s training.

CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION, Colo. – Firefighters from the Colorado Springs Fire Department and the Chyenne Mountain Air Force Station Fire Department conducted a joint training mission at the Cheyenne Mountain AFS, Colo., fire training area, June, 9, 2017. The training consisted of the flashover trainer seen here and use of the three-story fire training building. (U.S. Air Force photo by Steve Kotecki)

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Where there’s smoke, there’s training.

Published June 14, 2017
By Steve Kotecki
21st Space Wing Public Affairs

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- A flashover in firefighting is when oxygen is introduced to superheated smoke causing it to erupt in flames. It is one of the most dangerous scenarios any firefighter can encounter, and that’s why it’s important for firefighting recruits to see one up close.

The Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colorado, Fire Department teamed up with trainers and recruits from the Colorado Springs Fire Department on June 9, 2017, for flashover training at the Cheyenne Mountain AFS fire training area.

The training was conducted by members of the Cheyenne Mountain AFS Fire Department, who set up and oversaw the training simulations for the recruits.

The flashover training is designed to give the recruits an up close and personal view of the phenomenon. The training the recruits received was their first exposure to fire in a training environment.

“It gives us the ability to sit in an extremely safe environment yet still experience the effects of heat and watch a fire grow from the very beginning stages until the room is almost fully engulfed,” said Capt. Brad Starling, Colorado Springs Fire Department training division.

This is accomplished by having the recruits don their personal protective gear and huddle inside a room-sized metal box that then has a fire built in it.

An instructor monitoring the fire then causes a controlled flashover to happen just a few feet above their heads. They are able to see it happen just as it would in an uncontrolled situation.

In addition to the flashover training, the recruits were also able to use the three-story fire trainer which allows for multiple types of fire and rescue scenarios such as search and rescue, ladder operations and sprinkler operations.

This training is made possible by the continued mutual support between the Cheyenne Mountain AFS Fire Department and the Colorado Springs Fire Department.

“We have developed a strong working relationship with the Colorado Springs Fire Department,” said Justin Ochsendorf, Cheyenne Mountain AFS Fire Department assistant training chief. “We respond and train together on emergency medical services scenarios, auto extrication and structural firefighting tactics.”

This shared mutual support and training is important to the Cheyenne Mountain Front Range area as it allows better communication between departments, decreases the risk of damage and injury during residential or wildfires

“Not only do we have a good relationship with the mountain (Cheyenne Mountain AFS) it’s a very important relationship,” Starling said. “Cheyenne Mountain is able to provide training opportunities we don’t have and vice versa, this training being part of that.”