Fire extinguisher training: Subjective assessment of a newly developed method by expert and novice firefighters

The present article reports an evaluation study of a newly developed fire extinguisher training program that contained a video in arabic,and a novel hands-on training apparatus. fire extinguishers are an important part of the overall strategy for fire protection; however,its effectiveness depends on the availability of competent and willing users. fire extinguisher training is important and should include both theoretical and hands-on training. traditional hands-on training methods expensive and has adverse effects on the environment. new apparatus has been developed (the honeycomb fire simulator); it uses a combination of propane clean fire,and inexpensive air-pressurized water extinguishers. complementary to the new apparatus,a training video has been developed in arabic that explains the fundamentals of fire extinguishers. thirteen expert and fourteen novice firefighters from the general directorate of civil defense in jordan subjectively assessed the training video and apparatus. after watching the video and practicing/experimenting with the new hands-on apparatus they answered questionnaires,and indicated their likes,dislikes,and other comments in designated areas on the study forms. expert and novice firefighters indicated that the video contained important,comprehensive,and well-presented information,and they endorsed it for training employees and school students. the new apparatus were preferred by to the traditional fire-pan method by13 firefighters,and only 5 preferred by 5 the traditional method. also,with the advantages of low cost and low environmental impact,the new method is obviously superior to the traditional method. the findings of the present study endorse the newly developed training program for arabic speaking countries. in addition,it can be projected that following the same structure program,effective programs may be established with different languages. © 2017 jordan journal of mechanical and industrial engineering.