Establishment of the city's new fire-fighting structure

The Boulder City Fire Department is in the final stages of adding a structure that will not only better prepare its firefighters, but also save taxpayers money.

Last week, Deputy Fire Chief Joshua Barrone said the new two-story training tower is now complete, having been installed from June 11-13. The training fields, however, are still under construction. That includes grading, hard surfaces and other aspects of training, which are expected to be completed in August. They have already held “train the trainer” classes, which are included in the purchase of the training structure.

The Boulder City Council last year approved $1.2 million in funding for a training tower, located behind the existing station on Elm Street.

Barrone said there are many benefits to having a training center literally nearby.

“This is a major event for the department,” he said. “The city has existed for 64 years without any formal training center for these professionals to hone and practice their skills. This will provide our department with a higher level of skills and training. It reinforces community service and professionalism and the goal of striving for excellence every day.”

The second benefit is the money the city will save in overtime, he said. It has been said in the past that much of the required training is not being done because firefighters don't have access to training facilities. The fire department would use the Henderson training tower. That's not ideal because the department has to pay firefighters overtime to go there, as they would have to do it on their own time to avoid staffing shortages when they're not there.

In recent years, training sessions have been held in the former Boys and Girls Club, next to the Boulder Public Library. While this served some of the department's needs, it was not possible to conduct burns in the building.

Now, Henderson Tower is no longer allowed to burn, which means Boulder City crews must undergo training on the fire tower in North Las Vegas.

“Not having to travel to North Las Vegas or Henderson, which requires driving time, wear and tear on vehicles and overtime costs, will be a huge relief to the city and the department,” Barrone said.

Structural fires are considered a low-risk, high-risk occurrence in Boulder City. Since they don’t happen often, frequent training is necessary to keep those skills sharp and prevent injuries. While there are about 20 to 25 calls per year for a structure fire, that’s different than a full-blown structure fire, which occurs about six to 12 times per year.

The new tower will be used for technical rescue, natural gas leaks, search training, extraction, hazardous material spills and even aerial rescue. The towers are built with interior fire panels that can withstand temperatures in excess of 3,000 degrees. Those panels are replaced every 15 to 20 years in large departments and are expected to last even longer here.

Ron Eland is editor of the Boulder City Review. He can be reached at [email protected] or 702-586-9523.