Lakeland College’s Emergency Training Centre (ETC) is the first school in Canada to use the FLAIM Trainer.
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The virtual reality system creates fire and emergency scenes with video and heat, letting students train safely without real flames.
Fire crews around the world use the system, which originated in Australia.
“This technology is not a replacement for live training, it’s an extension of it,” said Shawn McKerry, dean of the ETC. “Our centre is known for its live-fire grounds and hands-on work. The FLAIM system adds another tool and helps us grow skills, improve access and bring new ideas to our programs.”
Lakeland will use the trainer in firefighting classes, leadership courses and industry training.
Since it’s portable, the system can travel to small towns, remote areas and Indigenous communities that do not have fire grounds. McKerry said it will build local strength while keeping training safe and affordable.
The college will also bring the FLAIM Trainer to career fairs and school visits so students can test drive firefighting in a real way.
“We’ve seen how schools like the Fire Service College in England use this technology,” said McKerry. “We are using the same ideas in Canada. This lets us train in safer, smarter and more flexible ways.”
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