ESB designs a wooden training course for the firefighters of Loire-Atlantique

At the end of October, the ESB (École Supérieure de Bois) in Nantes delivered a mobile self-rescue training course to the Loire-Atlantique Departmental Fire and Rescue Service (SDIS). Designed and built by 18 Bachelor's students, this wooden module will be used to train nearly 4,000 volunteer firefighters. The equipment, composed of three 3-meter tunnels forming a 1.5-meter-high U-shape, replicates critical situations faced by firefighters: narrow passages, obstacles to overcome, and hatches to open under pressure. Portable, "it will first be installed at the training support center in Vigneux-de-Bretagne," explains Fabienne Padovani, Vice-President of the SDIS Loire-Atlantique Board of Directors, before being moved to fire stations not yet equipped with it. The project, which originated from a "speed challenge" in 2023, involved the students in needs analysis, design, modeling, and manufacturing. A comprehensive experience, praised by SDIS 44, which sees this course as a key tool to strengthen the training of its teams.

Photo credits: ESB