Firefighter training goes hi-tech

TAMPA - Hot is one thing. But, try working in an environment where the temperature is several hundred degrees!

That's exactly what Tampa and Temple Terrace firefighters do when they train at Tampa's new fire training facility.

"It's as realistic as we can make it," Tampa Fire Rescue firefighting instructor David Dittman said.

He piles wood and paper into the simulator, then sets it on fire. Smoke billows from the structure. A team of new firefighters quickly puts on coats, pants and boots to protect them from the flames, and tanks and masks to breathe in an environment where air is scarce and toxic.

The simulator is actually a special configuration of metal shipping containers. It's made to simulate a multi-story building.

"It gives them an invaluable lesson on what they're going into," Dittman said. "When they should be applying water and when they should be getting out."

Tampa firefighter recruit Jeremy Hobson came out of the simulator drenched in sweat, but smiling.

"Once it got a little hotter, that rollover comes over your head and that fire starts coming over your head," Hobson said.

Hobson knows what he learns here about how a fire behaves will translate to more than just handy knowledge for his job. It could save his life.