It’s an honor to be able to provide service to First Responders. We recently provided special effects enhancements to The Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Del Valle Regional Training Center, a state-of-the-art training facility located in Santa Clarita, California. The facility is dedicated to providing training for firefighters, emergency responders, and other first responders. It features a variety of training environments, including structures that simulate residential and commercial buildings, aircraft, trains, and other industrial settings. The facility also features training props and equipment, such as smoke machines, simulated and real fire and gas leaks, and vehicle extrication equipment all in an immersive environment.
The Del Valle Regional Training Center is one of the largest training facilities of its kind in the United States, and it serves as a hub for training and education for firefighters and emergency responders throughout the region. The facility offers a wide range of training programs, including basic and advanced firefighting, hazardous materials response, urban search and rescue, and incident command training. The training programs are designed to provide firefighters and emergency responders with the skills and knowledge they need to respond effectively to a wide range of emergencies, including fires, natural disasters, and other hazardous incidents.
Over the years, Technifex has partnered with LACOFD and the Del Valle Facility to assist in master planning the training facility and developing creative one of a kind immersive training environments. For the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACOFD) Hazmat training center in Los Angeles County, Technifex XR repurposed a fuel tanker truck and trailer to simulate a real-life accident scenario. First Responders must physically jack up the tanker, extricate a trapped vehicle and “occupants”, all while managing chemical leaks, billowing smoke and live fire. All systems are under complete computer control to enhance realism. Trainee exercises are also recorded for immediate after-action reviews with their instructors.
LACOFD is considered the most progressive in training as well as one of the largest fire departments in the US. Currently, Technifex has provided an upgrade to the facility that has been used consistently to train thousands of firefighters and is a model for the industry.
Effects used in these practical sets are actually developed for the theme park industry. It’s a wonderful opportunity to put our “wow” effects to practical use.