Facilities

The Full Scale Fire Test Facility (ex-USS SHADWELL, LSD-15), is a 457 ft., 9,000 ton landing ship dock, located at the U.S. Coast Guard's Fire and Safety Test Detachment, Little Sand Island, Mobile, Alabama. All aspects and ship systems important to damage control are maintained on the ship, i.e., ventilation, fire main, heating and air conditioning, one complete zone of CPS (replicating one zone and the commensurate compartments of DDG-51), electrical, lighting, and internal communication systems (including WIFCOM and WLAN communications supporting VoIP/Power Line Communication (PLC)). Specialized test areas include a Hangar Bay, Flight Deck with Helicopter mockup, Submarine test area, machinery space, AGS/PVLS magazine, and Well Deck/Vehicle Stowage areas. Three damage control lockers are also maintained. Many of the compartments on the ship are instrumented. The data is available on a gigabit blown fiber network.