Training in the Community - MFC Survival's Fire Tent

 Is there a safe way of replicating the terrifying ordeal of a house fire in order to teach children how best to react in an emergency?

This is the challenge that Mid and West Wales Fire Service set themselves, and the answer was finally provided by MFC Survival in the shape of the innovative MFC Fire Tent. 

The Fire Tent is based on MFC Survival’s emergency shelter, which means it can be set up in five minutes flat with only the power of a BA cylinder. It has some important additions, however, as MFC Commercial Director Philip Jones explained: “We adapted our traditional shelter and incorporated a maze inside, made with curtains. Children get into the tent through a ‘cat flap’, and the tent is then filled with smoke. The tent also has blackout liner to recreate as closely as possible the disorientation that would be experienced in a smoke filled room.” 

Marc Williams, Mid and West Wales Fire Service, who was involved with the project from the beginning, adds that the Fire Tent can be configured into different fire situations with the aid of foam blocks and curtains – e.g. a grass fire or a house fire. “It allows us to take the fire message into the community more effectively, rather than trying to explain it in the classroom.” Williams adds that the children’s safety was a major design concern from the very start, and as such the Fire Tent’s inner maze is held together with Velcro allowing for a quick release should there be a panic inside. 

The Fire Tent was made possible through a grant by the Welsh Assembly for educating children about the dangers of fire and how to escape from smoke-filled buildings. Philip Jones of MFC Survival adds: “We would like to offer this to other community fire officers. It is quite a unique product unlike anything else on the market. Many similar products require continuous power to remain erect, but this one doesn’t. We’ve also designed it to be up and running very quickly, and it only takes 15 minutes to take down. “Mid and West Wales are very forward thinking and worked closely with us on the Fire Tent. After we gave them the concept, they came up with the idea of adding flames on the windows and having a maze inside. It was a collaboration.” 

The Fire Tent has already been successfully used in partnership with Community First, a charity that works at the forefront of community development to help improve the quality of life and economic well being of people and local communities throughout Wiltshire and Swindon.