Fuel spill firefighter trainer
AssigneeKidde Fire Trainers, Inc.
InventorsDominick J. Musto, Steven J. Williamson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An enhanced deck for generating live fire simulations of fuel spill and chemical fires and the like, and includes a pit for receiving a volume of fluid, such as water, within which is mounted a fuel burner array. Gaseous or liquid fuel is delivered to the burner assembly under pressure, resulting in the expulsion of fuel into the liquid, where the fuel transforms into vapor and rises to the surface of the pit. A support surface structure is provided at the top of the pit flush to the ground level to permit vehicle movement. The fuel vapor is ignited at the support surface to generate a training fire.
Claims33
In a system for use in a firefighter trainer for simulating a ground fuel or chemical spill, comprising a container for liquid in the form of an open pit, a source of gas on the surface of liquid in the pit, and an ignition means for igniting the gas on the surface of the liquid to produce a flame simulating the ground fuel or chemical spill, the improvement which comprises providing a decking in the pit on or near the surface of the liquid for supporting a personnel carrying vehicle, the decking having S-shaped vertical reticular bars with a top surface and a bottom surface, the top surface of the decking at ground level to allow easy driving of the vehicle onto the decking, the bottom of the decking being supported on vertical bearing bars creating a channel space between the bottom of the pit and the bottom of the reticuline bars, a dispersing means for dispersing the fuel into the water within the space and vertical passageways through the decking to allow the uninhibited flow of the fuel to the surface of the liquid.
Firefighter training equipment for use in a ground pit for holding liquid such as water and simulating a fire on the ground, comprising a decking in the pit on or near the surface of the liquid for supporting a personnel carrying vehicle, the decking having vertical reticular bars with a top surface and a bottom surface, the top surface of the decking at ground level to allow easy driving of the vehicle onto the decking, the bottom of the decking being supported on vertical bearing bars creating a channel space between the bottom of the pit and the bottom of the reticuline bars, means for dispersing fuel into the liquid within the space, vertical passageways through the decking to allow the uninhibited flow of the fuel to the surface of the liquid and ignition means for igniting the fuel.
A process for creating a firefighter trainer for simulating a ground fuel or chemical spill, comprising a open pit structure containing liquid, a source of combustible gas on the surface of liquid in the pit, an ignition means for igniting the gas on the surface of the liquid to produce a flame simulating the ground fuel or chemical spill, a reinforced deck covering the surface of the pit but below the surface of the liquid for supporting a personnel carrying vehicle, the decking having S-shaped vertical reticular bars with a top surface and a bottom surface, the top surface of the decking at ground level to allow easy driving of the vehicle onto the decking, the bottom of the decking being supported on vertical bearing bars creating a channel space between the bottom of the pit and the bottom of the reticuline bars, a dispersing means for dispersing the fuel into the water within the space and vertical passageways through the decking to allow the uninhibited flow of the fuel to the surface of the liquid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.