Acquired Structures

General Information

The Acquired Structure Training (AST) program is integral to respond to a rapidly changing environment by ensuring the ongoing development of our firefighters. 

The Orangeburg DPS Fire Department actively seeks out buildings to use for training. These buildings are referred to as acquired structures. Acquired Structure Training provides valuable hands-on training for OFD personnel that cannot be duplicated with fire training towers. Therefore, your willingness and generosity to donate your property to the acquired structures program are of tremendous value to both OFD personnel and the community we serve.

Realistic Scenario Training

The type of training we conduct varies based on the building type, construction, and project timeline. We accept all types of building, with a few stipulations because we operate under the premise that the building is more than reasonably safe. Although AS buildings are going to be torn down, we will reject buildings (regardless of non-destructive or destructive training) that are structurally unsound to the point of being hazardous, infested with rodents, other sanitary risks that would put our personnel at harm, or any other situation that would deem the building unsafe for our personnel. The OFD acquired structure program’s number one goal is to provide quality, realistic training that has addressed important Risk Management principles that adhere to the highest level of safety possible, for both the property owner and our personnel.

 

Non-Destructive Training

This is the simplest and most flexible type of training. This type of training ensures that there is no damage to the property, yet allows for the practice of important basic skills such as advancing a dry hose line, search techniques, ladder placement, apparatus positioning, building rope systems, etc.

 

Destructive Training

This type of training provides the most realistic training, which will likely yield damage to the property. Therefore, the building must have a demolition permit before we start this type of training.

Destructive training allows our personnel to realistically practice skills such as fire attack methods (hose stretches and fire attack techniques using water), ventilation methods (cutting holes in the roof), forcible entry (forcibly opening doors, cutting security bars off windows, etc.), search and rescue, ladder throws, firefighter survival techniques, etc. This type of AST affords OFD personnel the opportunity to train in an environment that is more than reasonably safe yet still providing a way to sharpen and broaden their skills by practicing them in different types of structures.

 

Contact Info

Jonathan Winningham
Battalion Chief / Fire Marshal
Fire Department
(803) 533-4105
jonathan.winningham@orangeburgdps.org

firemarshal@orangeburgdps.org

1320 Middleton Street, Orangeburg, SC 29115