STARKVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) - Multiple fire departments in Oktibbeha County have spent the week training with the Mississippi Fire Academy when it comes to putting out propane fires.

The Starkville Fire Department and other volunteer departments in the county gathered at McKee Park in Starkville to use a training propane tank.

Clarence Parks, the training chief with the Starkville Fire Department, said firefighters use training simulations through the state fire academy. He said the academy's propane simulation can be transported to various counties in the state.

Propane fires are very unpredictable. So, it was important for firefighters to get there training in.

"It expands at a ratio of 270 to 1,” Parks said. “Pressurized propane can actually reach out and bite you. So, we have to be really careful."

Parks said safety is the number one concern with propane.

"Everything we do here in regard to training, it is about life safety and stabilization and property conservation. So, that's what we are focusing on tonight."