VT Flagship’s Fire Fighting Training School in Portsmouth is celebrating the opening of an important new addition to its range of training facilities.

The custom built Confined Space Training Facility, based at HMS Excellent, is one of the most advanced trainers of its type to train the Royal Navy and commercial customers to safely operate in enclosed areas.

Every year, UK workers are killed or seriously injured in a wide range of occupations and industries as the result of being exposed to dangerous chemicals or conditions in confined working spaces. Deaths and injuries are not just limited to the workers themselves but also to those who have tried to rescue them without proper training or equipment. Only recently a crew member died aboard a cruise ship in Southampton when he entered a ballast tank without breathing apparatus.

Designed by VT Flagship, the new training facility will teach people to work safely in a variety of enclosed spaces including plant rooms, drains and sewers, fuel tanks, lift shafts, and ductwork. It will also be used to train emergency rescue teams to undertake their specialist roles in a realistic setting, mirroring the challenging environments they can find themselves in.

Navigating by torchlight, students transit through a cleverly designed maze of interconnected tunnels and enclosed areas spread over three levels. A dim ray of red light keeps the environment dark but provides sufficient visibility to allow the skilled VT instructors to monitor the students’ progress safely, and assist where necessary. CCTV cameras and a central control area, with the ability to playback events, assist with delegate assessment, instruction and safety.

The facility can be adapted to suit the skills required by different trainees with the option to add smoke, noise, heat and rescue dummies to the training scenario to make it more demanding.  Specialist equipment such as winches and breathing apparatus can also be used; whilst levels of difficulty can be adapted by blocking entry routes and sounding gas detector alarms.

Says Denis Johnston, Fire Fighting Training Business Director: “We are delighted to be launching this sophisticated facility that will help raise awareness of the need for this type of training. We spent a considerable amount of time ensuring the unit will deliver a first class training experience and that it will help reduce risk and save lives.”

Says Royal Fleet Auxiliary Chief Officer Russ Farquar: "The feedback from all courses delivered by VT Flagship to date, has had nothing but praise for the course, both for the facility and the quality of instruction. Their depth of knowledge gained has increased and being trained with the same equipment that is used on board has further enhanced the confidence of the delegates who will, at times, be required to operate in this potentially high risk environment."

Filling a niche in this specialist market, the multi role facility has been built to provide City and Guilds accredited training to both the marine and civil work forces, and to support any future needs of the Royal Navy.