Seminole County deploys mobile simulation lab to train firefighters without pulling crews off the street

The Seminole County Fire Department is bringing a mobile simulation training lab to fire stations across the county so crews can complete hands-on training without being taken out of service, Speaker 2 said.

"In emergency response, time can be the difference between life and death," Speaker 2 said, arguing that required training has previously reduced on-duty coverage. The department’s new program sends instructors in a mobile simulation vehicle to stations each month to run scenarios with programmable mannequins.

Speaker 2 said instructors complete about "20 hands-on training labs" per month. Each session runs roughly one hour and focuses on low-frequency, high-stress emergencies, the speaker said. "We can program a lot of different illnesses and injuries," Speaker 1 added, describing how scenarios are tailored to specific skills.

The mobile lab is aimed at emergency medical care: Speaker 2 said about "84% of their calls are EMS related," which the department cited as a reason to concentrate the training on medical response.

Speaker 3 praised the approach, saying the training will make crews "more skilled, faster at doing their job" and will keep crews in their districts rather than removing them from service for off-site training.

There were no formal votes or policy actions recorded in the transcript. The presentation described program operations and intended benefits; transcript excerpts do not specify program cost, start date, or the full implementation schedule.