Planning A Multi-Department Drill At An Abandoned Schoolhouse

A disused schoolhouse can provide a realistic setting for a multi-agency fire exercise: multiple rooms, concealed voids, narrow corridors, outbuildings and a familiar community layout. It can also contain serious hazards, including asbestos, unstable floors, damaged electrical systems and contaminated water.

The exercise should test coordination as much as firefighting. Rural and volunteer crews may arrive from several towns, use different radio procedures and have varied experience levels. A clear plan helps the incident controller create useful pressure without exposing participants to unnecessary risk.

Secure The Site And Set The Boundaries

Begin with written permission from the owner, local council and any relevant state authority. Arrange a building inspection before crews enter. In Australia, older school buildings may contain asbestos cement, lead paint or deteriorated insulation, so the site assessment should identify restricted areas and establish whether a licensed asbestos professional is required.

Walk the property in daylight and mark structural weaknesses, overhead hazards, wells, pits, septic systems and access points. Use sturdy signs, barrier tape and a site map. Identify a safe appliance parking area that will not block emergency access, then establish separate zones for staging, rehabilitation, media and observers.

Weather can change the risk quickly. A hot, dry afternoon near Adelaide, Perth or regional New South Wales may create grassfire exposure around the property, while heavy rain around Brisbane can make unsealed access tracks impassable. Include a trigger for cancelling or reducing the exercise when wind, lightning, heat or smoke conditions become unsafe.

Define The Scenario And Learning Outcomes

Give the drill a believable incident story rather than a collection of unrelated tasks. For example, crews could respond to a suspected electrical fire during a community event, with one missing person, a trapped occupant, smoke spread into the roof space and a simulated exposure to a nearby shed. Keep the scenario consistent across the dispatch message, role-player briefing and control plan.

Set measurable objectives before the day. These might include establishing command within five minutes, completing a primary search of a designated area, transmitting a concise situation report, managing a mayday and handing over command without losing accountability. A multi-department exercise should test interoperability, not simply how quickly one crew can extinguish a training fire.

Use the Australasian Inter-Service Incident Management System where it applies to participating agencies. This gives commanders a shared structure for objectives, resources, safety and communications. If departments use different terminology, brief everyone on the common terms during the pre-start meeting.

Build A Safe And Realistic Training Environment

Never rely on a genuinely uncontrolled fire inside an abandoned building. Use approved smoke machines, theatrical smoke, training props, flashlights and clearly identified casualty dummies. If live fire is essential, conduct it only in a purpose-built facility or under the direction of an authorised training provider.

Create a hazard register covering collapse, slips, trips, heat stress, vehicle movements, smoke exposure and contact with unknown substances. Assign a safety officer with authority to pause the exercise. All participants need a stop word or radio instruction that immediately ends an activity, and every crew should know the emergency evacuation signal.

Account for realistic protective equipment expectations. Structural firefighting PPE can cause heat strain even in cool conditions, while breathing apparatus adds workload during searches. Provide drinking water, shade, cooling breaks and a rehabilitation area. A simple sausage sizzle may suit an Australian volunteer gathering, but food must be kept separate from contaminated gear and rehabilitation operations.

Coordinate Departments, Crews And Communications

Nominate an exercise director, incident controller, safety officer, logistics lead, observer coordinator and rehabilitation supervisor. Give each department a defined role before arrival, such as attack crew, search team, water supply, road management, medical support or relief crew. This prevents several appliances converging on the same doorway while another critical task is missed.

Prepare a communications plan that lists channels, call signs and fallback methods. Rural crews may use different UHF or VHF arrangements, and mobile coverage can be unreliable outside Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. Test radios at the site, provide a face-to-face reporting point and record all significant decisions on an incident board.

Recruitment and retention are part of operational readiness. A well-run drill can involve experienced members as coaches, evaluators or safety mentors without placing them in unnecessary physical danger. Guidance on retired firefighter mentors offers a useful model for using practical experience to strengthen newer volunteers.

Manage Water, Access And Logistics

Confirm the water plan before the exercise begins. An abandoned schoolhouse may have no reliable hydrant, so crews might need tankers, portable tanks, relay pumping or a nearby static supply. Check local water authority requirements and avoid assuming that a rural dam, pool or standpipe is immediately usable.

Map appliance routes and turning areas for Australian vehicle configurations. A narrow school lane may suit a light tanker but not a heavy urban pumper. Keep a separate route for ambulances and ensure gates can be opened without delaying incoming crews. Arrange toilets, lighting, fuel, spare batteries, PPE bags and first-aid equipment before the first briefing.

Procurement also deserves attention. Use department-approved suppliers for respiratory protection, hoses and medical equipment rather than treating a low-cost online purchase as equivalent to certified operational gear. For volunteer units comparing prices, local suppliers and major retailers such as Bunnings may help with site barriers and general logistics, but life-safety equipment must meet the relevant Australian requirements.

Debrief, Record And Share The Results

Hold a hot debrief soon after the final evolution while observations remain fresh. Ask crews to identify what happened, what supported good decisions and where the plan created confusion. Keep the discussion factual and respectful; the purpose is to improve systems, not embarrass individuals.

Follow with a written after-action report. Record attendance, objectives, radio issues, access problems, safety interventions, search performance, water supply results and command handovers. Separate training observations from any real damage or maintenance issue discovered at the property.

Turn findings into actions with an owner and due date. A department may need to update its pre-incident plan, purchase compatible radios, revise its missing-person procedure or schedule a joint pump familiarisation session. Share a concise version with participating brigades and the association so lessons from one rural community can benefit others.

Coordinate early with the property owner, councils and neighbouring departments, then set a date for the next joint exercise. A disciplined schoolhouse drill can build confidence, reveal gaps and strengthen the working relationships that matter when a real call arrives.