Several legislators loaded a bus and traveled down to the Tennessee Fire and Codes Academy in Deason on Wednesday to gain insight into what the fire service provides to the State of Tennessee.

A group of around 20 legislators walked through several stations set up by various agencies from multiple jurisdictions. The groups got to experience a Class A Burn Pod evolution, watch a vehicle extrication demonstration, learn about hazardous materials and Paramedic/EMS response, were educated on the importance of fire prevention and investigation, and much more.

The most exciting demonstration was a side by side room and contents fire with one room being sprinkled and the other not. The two rooms were designed with the same building construction, furnishing, and fuel loads. The ignition source for each room was also the same. The non-sprinkled room was completely engulfed in flames in under four minutes. The sprinkled side was nearly extinguished once the sprinkler triggered in less than one minute.

Murfreesboro Fire & Rescue Department’s Fire Marshal’s Office and Special Events Team were on hand for Wednesday’s activities. Assistant Fire Marshal Carl Peas assisted with the Class A Burn Pod, while Fire Marshal Ken Honeycutt and Assistant Fire Marshal Tracy Summar educated the legislators on the importance of fire prevention. The Special Events Team walked legislators through the department’s fire safe house, demonstrated the fire extinguisher training system, and even showed them how Freddie the Fire Truck is used to engage children in the learning process.

“Overall, I think the event was a great success,” commented Fire Marshal Honeycutt, who had a large hand in getting the event together. “We wanted the legislators to understand the importance of the TFACA, our departmental educational programs, and give them more insight into other programs that we advocate and why we advocate them.”

Visit Murfreesboro Fire & Rescue Department’s Facebook page to view the full photo album from the event.

(Photo - Left to Right): Assistant Fire Marshal Tracy Summar, Captain Hunter Fite, Firefighter Shandreah Womack, Firefighter Matt Welcome, Firefighter Rob Odom, Firefighter Lance Sutton, and Fire Marshal Ken Honeycutt.