Fire Protection Research Foundation to Host a Free Webinar on Immersive Learning for the Fire Service
The Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF), the research affiliate of NFPA®, will host its next webinar, “Fire Service Overview of Firefighter Immersive Learning Environment,” on Wednesday, May 31, 2023.
Training is a critical part of the fire service. New technological training and education applications are rapidly emerging for the fire service using immersive learning, and they offer certain unique advantages—most notably by improving health and safety. Fire service training academies and others have been using immersive learning technologies for driver training, hazardous materials training, and situational awareness. But they are being challenged by recent advances in emerging technologies (e.g., virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics), which has created a need for new training approaches and better understanding of these technologies. These innovative approaches have been proven to be effective in the training of other professionals (e.g., health care, military, construction, and aviation), and the fire service needs to develop a baseline of knowledge to manage the evolution of these new approaches.
RELATED: Read a 2022 NFPA Journal feature story on the use of immersive learning for firefighter training
The Fire Protection Research Foundation, in partnership with North American Fire Training Directors (NAFTD), have been jointly addressing this topic to develop a roadmap for the fire service through a FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant activity. The project involved a review of existing technologies, focus group discussion with stakeholders, and a summit with fire service and technology leaders to learn about the current landscape of technology use and fire service needs and to address how immersive learning technologies could fit into the fire service training curriculum. Visit the project website, nfpa.org/ffimmersivelearning, to access the reports from this activity.
On May 31, the webinar panel will discuss the application of immersive learning in firefighter training. Panelists include Ken Willette, North American Fire Training Directors; Casey Grant, DSRAE; James P. Moore, Illinois Fire Service Institute; and Paul J. Norwood, Connecticut Fire Academy.
Webinar registration is free and required to be able to attend live; register for this webinar by clicking the direct link here or by visiting nfpa.org/webinars.
This webinar is supported by the FPRF 2023 Webinar Series Sponsors:
• Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co., Inc.
• Telgian Engineering and Consulting
• The Zurich Services Corporation
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute Fire Protection Engineering Program
