A large crowd gathered at the Trenton Fire Department Training Tower Tuesday, where a ribbon-cutting was held for the state-of-the art training facility.
Trenton Firefighter Alex Lovell, left, talks with residents about the first and second floor burn areas at the TFD Training Tower on Tuesday.
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Following a ribbon-cutting with the Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce, public tours of the nearly $1.2 million facility were given by members of the department. Trenton Fire Chief Brandon Gibler said the building itself cost about $740,000 while the additional cost came from concrete, fencing, etc. The center would not have been possible, he said, if not for the one-quarter of one percent sales tax passed by Trenton voters in 2016. The cost will pay dividends in improved training not only for Trenton firefighters, but for the department’s mutual aid partners such as the Grundy County Rural Fire Protection District and the departments in Galt, Laredo, Spickard and Jamesport. Additionally, Gibler hopes the facility will become a regional training destination, bringing departments from around north Missouri to Trenton for training.
Gibler said most training facilities have a “burn room” but the new building can burn on both the first and second floors. The layout can also be changed as desired.
Standing on top of the Trenton Fire Department Training Tower, Firefighter Alex Lovell visits with those attending a public tour of the facility on Tuesday.
“We can set this up to look like your house or my house or any variety of floor plans,” Chief Gibler said. “Most of the time when you’re doing training, it’s the same floor plan every time so you know you’re going in, turning to the right, looking for a bedroom on the left or whatever. With this building, we can set it up with a different floor plan every time so it’s a lot better training for us.”
Trenton Firefighter Derek Hert shows how the tunnel at the fire training tower is used during a public tour of the nearly $1.2 million facility on Tuesday.
Gibler said one thing that sets the TFD training tower apart from others is the flashover simulator. Flashover occurs when all the combustible material in a room simultaneously ignites and it’s a very dangerous situation for the firefighters. The flashover simulator gives the firefighter training in how to recognize when a flashover is about to occur and how to respond. While it’s a scary situation even in training, being prepared can be the difference between life and death for the firefighter. Extra precautions are taken in the simulator to ensure the safety of firefighters.
A large crowd attended a Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting at the Trenton Fire Department Training Tower on Tuesday. Members of the public were able to tour the facility following the ribbon-cutting.
The tower also allows for training to handle situations in an elevator or tunnel and on multiple-level buildings. Firefighters can also rappel off the top of the building, although Chief Gibler said the department will conduct that training with someone a little more experienced in it.
“I think that’s something we’ll do when we have an expert here to help us,” he laughed.
