#11 – Classroom/Lab Description (see attached photos)

The Fire and Rescue program at Massanutten Technical Center was started four years ago with the support of the Rockingham County Fire and Rescue Department.  The Department was in need of qualified firefighters and wanted to explore the feasibility of training high school students to become volunteer and career firefighters.  To minimize the initial start-up costs, the program was begun in the basement level of our East Building in a temporary classroom and lab space.  The current classroom measures approximately 17’ x 29’ and the lab is 25’ x 30’.   In four short years, the program has grown and become popular with students, parents, and the fire safety community.    Our school board recognized this growth by committing to building a new addition to our school, the Health and Public Safety Building, which will house our Fire and Rescue program beginning in the August 2010.

There is no typical workstation in the Fire and Rescue area.  In the classroom, two students are assigned to a 6' x 2' table and then the open lab is configured as needed depending on the particular skill addressed in that day's lesson.   Students also work outdoors with fire hoses and fire truck and practice ladder work on a small shed behind our Main Building.  To practice live burns, they go to the Harrisonburg City training grounds.

The new Health and Public Safety Building will more than double the space allotted for the Fire and Rescue program.  In addition, the program will be able to house a donated Fire Engine and ambulance in its lab space.  (see attached blueprint)

 Artifact #12 - Improvement plan for classroom/lab

     As our program grew over the last four years, it became obvious that we needed a larger classroom and lab space.  Also, an area fire department had donated a fire truck and an ambulance to our program.  We had no place to house these vehicles where students could practice their skills.  We presented our needs to our Executive Board (Harrisonburg City and Rockingham County School Boards) along with information on the ever-growing demand for professional firefighters.   In spite of the difficult economic needs, our Executive Board voted to approve expanding our building and adding a Health and Public Safety Building.  This 17,500 square foot expansion will house our Fire and Rescue, Criminal Justice, and Nursing programs.  The Fire and Rescue students will now be working in a 39’ x 51’ lab and their classroom will be approximately 39’ x 38’ –and equipped with computers.  We believe this state-of-the art facility will enhance our training efforts and will result in an ever-increasing popularity of this program with students and parents alike.   Our Health and Public Safety Building is scheduled to open August 2010.  (See attached photos)

 Artifact #13 - Technology in the Classroom

      1.          Students become familiar with what is called  thermal imaging cameras (TIC). These are cameras designed to show warm or hot

                  spots    in a wall or ceiling during a fire.  It can also be utilized during a search for a person.  This device will show temperature variations  in different colors.  We also can use these for liquid tanks -possibly containing hazardous materials- to get an idea of how    full it might be during an incident. (see attached photo)

2.        Students are shown and then allowed to use personal alert safety systems (PASS) as used by fire fighters.  These are devices attached to fire fighter gear to alert other fire fighters if one goes down and is not moving.  These devices make a loud sound if a fire fighter is not moving for a short period of time.  This can also be manually activated to alert others to an emergency or lost fire fighter. (see attached photos)

3.         Computer and projector  (powerpoint) technology is used by instructor and students for projecting classroom presentations, and news articles are projected showing fires and other emergencies making the news.  We also use the internet to search for pictures of different pieces of equipment we might not have in our current inventory.  Digital photos are projected of students performing different skills and then enhanced while being projected to show how a skill might be accomplished differently or how someone else might also do it.