HFD training facility is operational

Before voters in Houston approved a sales tax in 2019 to benefit the city’s police, fire and parks and recreation departments, Fire Chief Robbie Smith promised citizens and city officials that his department’s share of the revenue would primarily be used to purchase equipment and apparatus, and to fund the construction of a firefighter training facility “at some point down the road.”

The facility became operational late last week and already hosted its first training session last Saturday.

“We’re at that point in the road now,” Smith said.

The facility was manufactured and constructed by Fire Training Structures of Phoenix, Ariz., and cost $669,791.

It’s located next to the city’s big water tower on Opportunity Circle and consists of three stacked levels of enclosed storage containers and two more levels of open-air work stations.

The facility’s purpose is to provide firefighters with the knowledge of how to safely deal with various situations while performing their duties by placing them in those situations.

“It will allow our personnel to be properly trained to be safe in every emergency situation we encounter,” Smith said. “They will know exactly what’s required of them to work in a safe manner. The more you train, the more you know and understand the circumstances you’re getting ready to encounter and the more easily things fall into place.”

The facility has the capability to present numerous scenarios to trainees. It’s equipped with:

•Multiple rooms where different types of fires can be set, including one where blazes using wood, straw or other fuel can burn, and another where an overhead “flash fire” can be controlled with varying intensity.

•A changeable maze area that allows personnel to experience maneuvering or crawling in dark, smoky hallways and tight spaces and having to extract themselves from being tangled in wire (that might come from a drop ceiling or other source).

•Barriers resembling several types of doors and walls designed for practicing forceable entry or wall-breaching.

•A rebar cutting station where personnel can practice cutting different sizes of rebar using power or hand tools.

•An interior sprinkler system so firefighters can experience a system activating at an inopportune time and know how to shut the water off.

•An area for rappelling from a high spot to the ground.

•Pitched areas resembling rooftops.

•Window-like openings and other fixtures designed for practicing entry or exit via an aerial attack vehicle’s extended ladder.

•A vertical rescue shaft where using ropes can be practiced.

•A ladder resembling one found on the side of a grain bin or other structure.

•A nearby retention pond for practicing “drafting” from an on-site water supply or using porta-pumps to move water to where it’s needed.

•A large, multi-level exterior staircase designed for practicing dealing with tools and hoses in such spaces.

The facility will soon include several props for training in various fire and rescue scenarios, including a vehicle, dumpster, airplane and chemical burn pit.

“These are all scenarios that we could run into here on a day-to-day basis,” Smith said, “and what’s amazing is we’re going to have the ability to train our personnel locally to understand what’s going to occur and be as safe as possible. To have that here in Houston is reaching a really big goal, and we’re now going to be able to provide better service to our citizens.”

Last Saturday’s inaugural training session was part of an entry-level firefighting course that included students from Houston, Raymondville, Roby and Licking.

“To have the facility up and running couldn’t have come at a better time for this class,” Smith said.

Use of the facility will be available to several area departments, and its addition is expected to help the HFD’s ISO rating (which would in turn help constituents with their homeowner’s insurance rates).

For more information about the Houston Fire Department or its new training facility, call Houston City Hall at 417-967-3348.

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