800-736-2388
800-736-2388
New London, PA, August 14, 2011:
With the 10th anniversary of 9/11 only weeks away, the Montgomery County Fire Academy has added a powerful new tool in disaster training to its Conshohocken, PA, campus with the arrival of The GUARDIAN®, a mobile training simulator produced by Personal Protection Equipment Specialists, Inc. (PPES). This training simulator allows first responders to finally get the real-life training unavailable any other way outside of a genuine crisis situation. Until now our nation’s first responders had been hindered by the limited opportunities to receive this vital real-life-experience required to deal with crisis situations such as earthquakes, explosions, tornado damage and terrorist attacks. Opportunities to see the GUARDIAN can be arranged by contacting Jay Gundel & Associates.
Certain to be an invaluable addition to the Montgomery County Fire Academy’s Fire and Rescue Training, the GUARDIAN has been described by more than one first responder in a position to know as being “as real as it gets."
The GUARDIAN Safety and Survival Training Simulator is able to recreate over 200 disaster scenarios that a first-responder may encounter. Available in either a 24' or 30' trailer divided into two floors, the unit is designed to safely train the rescuer by simulating a building collapse, not unlike those that first responders had to contend with at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks ten years ago.
Hindered by limited visibility, smoke and debris, and encumbered by pounds of protective gear and bulky breathing apparatus, trainees find themselves having to crawl through narrow spaces on a mission to rescue a trapped victim. Such hands-on experience allows them to perfect such necessary techniques in stabilizing collapsed environments, shoring up flooring and/or containing a gas leak before being able to extricate the victim from life-threatening danger. Only by working together as a team will they be able to achieve their life-saving and survival objectives.
The Montgomery County Fire Academy has elected to expand the number of possible scenarios by selecting from a long list of options. Those participating in training at the academy will now be able to experience such real-life situations as a window rescue, sewer line escape or breaching a cement wall, in addition to the standard three-story building collapse with the third story “pancaked” onto the second. Air pistons will allow trainees to experience an earthquake and its after-shocks and the resulting structural settling. The Academy also selected to include in their package the remote command center, allowing for video monitoring and recording of trainees’ performances for review and evaluation.
It is this flexibility that makes the GUARDIAN an ideal real-life training module for use by a broad range of first-responders, including FEMA Urban Search & Rescue personnel, terrorist task forces, Federal law enforcement, emergency medical service providers and local volunteer firefighters. It was designed to be easily transported using a standard pickup truck or van to wherever it is needed.
Founded in 1996, PPES is a full-service company specializing in meeting the needs of first- responders industry. In addition to the GUARDIAN Safety and Survival Training Simulator, PPES provides Rescue and EMS equipment, service, training and certification. More information is available on the PPES website (www.PPES.US) or by contacting Jay Gundel & Associates at (302) 658-1674. Photos, video footage and a demonstration are available by request.
