CRC’s Fire Technology Program will demonstrate a new virtual reality headset to help train students at the Winn Center on Monday. The event allowed visitors to try on headsets and see different scenarios students go through.
Cosumnes River College’s Fire Technology program demoed 20 of its newly purchased virtual reality headsets at the Winn Center on Monday.
Chris Hubbard, Interim Dean of Health and Human Services, said he worked with American River College to win a $200,000 Community Workforce Grant and acquire new training techniques. Headsets allow program students to experience how to handle situations hostile to firefighters without putting them in danger.
“This gives us the opportunity to show them first and talk to them first, and then we can ramp it up by the time we get to the actual fire,” said Richard Haas, Fire Technology Coordinator. Told.
Before the VR headset, Haas said the training consisted of “hands-on” training and “instructional videos” and was part of CRC’s Fire Technology program.
“They will still find themselves in a hostile environment because it is mandated by the state and national curricula we follow,” Haas said. It can be obtained.”
Cody Newcomer, an EMT at the Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Department and a Darley trainer, helped set up the VR headset. Darley is the company that made her VR headset.
“This kind of stuff attracts them and really puts them in a different place,” said the newcomer.
Newcomer said he uses an application on his computer called “RiVR Link” to upload footage from a 2D or 360 camera to an SD card. Insert the SD card into the headset, download it to the headset and he can watch it in VR.
Trainers can also see where students are in the scenario and what they’re looking at, Newcomer says.
CRC President Ed Bush attended the event, looked at the headset, and said he was pleased with the results.
“Additional tools and techniques that make them more capable and ready to do the job, I think, are a good use of resources,” Bush said.
Hubbard can see VR headsets being used in other programs as well.
“I can use these headsets, all I have to do is put the right video in the right field, and that’s the really cool thing about this program,” Hubbard said. “We can change anything.”
Bush agreed with Hubbard, saying he wants to use VR to complement the teaching that takes place in the classroom.
“As long as we keep in mind that this will complement the work of our faculty and improve the experience of our students, but not replace what they were getting in the classroom, I think we will be fine. ” said Bush.
