Plans for a regional training facility are taking shape to ensure foothills firefighters have the training the need to keep pace with the growth of industry and residential development in the area.
High River fire department captain Dave Roe said the number of full-time firefighters in High River, the MD of Foothills and Okotoks departments is growing meaning there is need for a regional training facility.
“Right now our fire fighters, if they’re lucky, once they finish their training they get exposed to a day and a half at a burn tower,” he said. “We need to be practicing more of the high-hazard, less frequent type of scenarios because those are the most dangerous ones.”
Roe has developed a business plan for a regional fire training facility and he said he is hoping a partnership between the departments in High River, the MD of Foothills and Okotoks could bring the project to fruition. So far, no municipalities have signed on to the plan yet.
The plan has been presented to High River council and Roe said it will eventually be presented to MD and Okotoks councils.
Roe said he hopes the facility can be opened soon and he’d like the facility to be considered by municipal councils as they discuss their budgets for 2012.
He said firefighters, be they full-time or volunteers, are to provincial standards and they need to keep up their certification and a local training facility will facilitate that process.
He said a training facility would also allow firefighters to learn in a controlled environment. In some cases, people donate old houses in rural areas to fire departments for training. He said it’s not always ideal as it can be costly to prepare houses and they don’t always know what kinds of hazards may be located in older structures.
Roe said a regional facility would also provide a centralized location to provide demonstrations of new products, technology or techniques.
The first phase of the project would include a three-storey burn tower. According to Roe, firefighters would be able to practice a range of skills in the facility such as live fire tactics, forcible entry as well as search and rescue in a smoke-filled, high heat environment. Other amenities would include areas to practice vehicle rescue and fire training and classroom and storage areas.
“It allows us to train on just about every aspect that we would need for every fire,” said Roe.
The first phase is estimated to cost $850,000 to build. Roe said the facility could be rented out to departments from other municipalities to draw revenue to support its operation.
Future phases would include a pad for professional driving instruction, swift water rescue facilities and training space for dealing with flammable fuels.
While there are other training facilities available to regional fire personnel, they have their drawbacks.
What’s most concerning about training outside the foothills is much of a department’s roster of firefighters, and some vehicles and equipment, are out of the community for extended periods of time.
“You are taking half of your department away and with a facility that’s nice and close you can jump back in the truck and come back into town,” he said.
According to Roe, the cost to rent a facility, and pay for meals, hotels and travel to and from training sites can be costly. He said a training facility in Calgary has a tower and it costs about $1,500 a day to rent, while a similar facility in Lethbridge recently hiked its rental rates from $200 to $900 per day. While there is also a tower in Brooks, he said it cannot be used for live fire training. Training for liquid fires – such as natural gas fires – can only be done in either Brooks or Nisku, near Edmonton, said Roe.
Okotoks fire chief Ken Thevenot said he likes the concept and there is a need for a training facility in the region. With more multi-family developments and larger buildings like Costco, he said the department must ensure its personnel are trained to the most up-to-date standards.
“It would be nice, we’re limited on where we can train here,” he said.
Thevenot said Okotoks firefighters go to the Calgary Fire Department facilities a couple times each year for training.
He said members of the Okotoks department have provided input on the business plan for the proposed training facility and it would have to meet the needs of all foothills communities, he said.
While it’s on the radar, Thevenot said it’s not a major priority for the department at this time and he has no plans to take the proposal to Okotoks town council for now. He said the department has also been playing catch up with its own needs and the department’s top priority remains the south fire station currently under construction as part of the new RCMP detachment.
