The Ventura County Fire Department’s “state-of-the-art” facility opened earlier this year and aims to train firefighters in an environment as close to real fire situations as possible.
County officials hosted a ribbon-cutting and open house with demonstrations June 24 of the $32.5 million fire training complex at 102 Durley Ave.
“You can never train too hard for a job that can kill you,” said fire Chief Dustin Gardner to a crowd of visitors hoping to see the fire department’s training complex. He described it as “state of the art.”
County fire officials walked groups of visitors, including Supervisors Janice Parvin and Kelly Long, through the new facilities and demonstrated the live fire training capabilities such as simulated kitchen fires, car fires and search and rescue training.
The 22-acre training site includes nearly 26,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor training space between two new buildings, a half-acre of concrete drill grounds and “ladder land,” a ladder training building, fire officials said.
One building is a propane-fueled facility with different building types represented, including a hallway-centered apartment, a strip mall and a mixed-use apartment building. The other building simulates a two-story home with a garage where firefighter trainees can fight fires fueled by wood or similar materials.
The buildings can allow about 50 firefighters training simultaneously and have been in use since January, said Andy VanSciver, a county fire spokesman. The first class of trainees to use the new facilities graduated June 18, fire officials said.
The county fire department bought the land for about $9.5 million in 2017 from the Ventura County Community College District and used by Oxnard College. The fire department paid another $23 million in construction costs for both new buildings and “ladder land,” according to county fire. The project came in on budget and on schedule, officials added.
Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@vcstar.com, 805-437-0224 or @ecentenoaraujo on Instagram and X.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura County Fire unveils $32.5M ‘state-of-the-art’ facility
Reporting by Ernesto Centeno Araujo, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ernesto Centeno Araujo, Ventura County Star | USA TODAY Network
