SUN PRAIRIE, WI – Fire houses across the country are preparing to handle a different kind of flame in 2023. Celebration candles. 20 different fire departments are celebrating the 20^th year of having their Fire Facilities training towers in 2023.

Since 1989 Fire Facilities has manufactured all-steel training structures for fire stations and training programs. The first tower was placed in Traverse City, Michigan, more than 30 years ago. Now, in 2023, fire stations from Alaska to North Carolina are celebrating two decades of hard work and service with their Fire Facilities training towers.

“The Lieutenant is very durable and has withstood our abuse in training for the past 20 years,” says Fire Chief Greg Ray, with the Ashland Fire Department in Ashland, Kentucky. “The tower has been very beneficial to our overall training. We’ve incorporated it into a multitude of training scenarios. The structure has held up pretty good over the years and we haven’t had any major repairs we need to address.”

The Lieutenant is a 34-foot tall training building with a burn room annex. Atop the four-story fire training building is a parapet roof guard with a chain opening for easy rappelling and roof exercises. Other locations with The Lieutenant training facilities marking their 20^th anniversary in 2023 include North River Fire District in Palmetto, Florida; Pleasant Hills Volunteer Fire Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Jacksonville Fire Department in North Carolina; Wellsville Fire Department in New York; Jasper Fire Department in Indiana; Maysville Public Works in Kentucky; and, Palominas Fire Department in Hereford, Arizona.

U. S. Air Force bases obtaining The Lieutenant in 2003 for training include McChord Air Force Base in Washington; Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota; Creech Air Force Base Fire Department in Indian Springs, Nevada; Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland; and, Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.

Celebrating in Connecticut

For the historic town of Glastonbury, Connecticut, this is a double anniversary year. The town was incorporated in 1693, so this is its 330-year anniversary. It’s also the 20^th anniversary of the town’s Assistant Fire Chief training tower. This four-story structure includes a burn room annex, residential section and fire training tower.

“We use the building about 25 times a year,” says Fire Chief Michael Thurz with the Glastonbury Fire Department. “It’s an important aspect of our overall training program because we are limited in doing the required training on your typical commercial or residential building.

“In addition to live fire, we use the building for laddering, search and rescue, and standpipe evolutions. This structure allows my department to stay in town for annual live burns. Overall I’ve been satisfied with the tower.

“If someone is looking to get a Fire Facilities structure, my advice is to design a building tha

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- PUB DATE: 1/25/2023 1:02:21 AM - SOURCE: Snohomish County News

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- PUB DATE: 1/25/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KABC-TV ABC 7 Los Angeles

Firefighter Jason Burns appreciates the attention that firefighting foam has received recently because long term exposure to it has been linked to cancer. However, he says he’s rarely used firefighting foam in his nearly 20-year career. “I tend to focus on our gear because most fire departments aren’t using foam on a regular basis, whereas I’m using my gear, firefighters are using our gear 10-14 times a tour, which is what we call our day of work,” he said.
- PUB DATE: 1/25/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: North Carolina Health News

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- PUB DATE: 1/25/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJBK-TV FOX 2 Detroit