GULF SHORES — Gulf Shores Fire Rescue has received a massive upgrade to its training with officials presenting the department's new training facility in a ribbon-cutting ceremony held the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 22.

Gulf Shores Fire Chief Mark Sealy said it was quite the process, with officials having to acquire the land, plan it out and construct it over three years. Sealy said the new facility was built on a budget of around $1.8 million and that there is room for future expansion.

“When I got here, there was a tower that was condemned that we went ahead and tore down,” Sealy recalls of the city’s previous training structure. “It was at another location. We needed more space from where that was at. We looked around and found city-owned property and made this facility work. It’s in a great spot for us.”

Among the installations throughout the facility, the main centerpiece is a multistory training tower, featuring four unique floors and a rooftop simulating different structures and layouts that firefighters will encounter in the community:

• First floor: Simulates a modern residential structure, with movable walls that allow crews to create different floor plans and prevents training from becoming repetitive.
• Second floor: Simulates multilevel homes, elevated beach houses and apartment access with enclosed stairways.
• Third floor: Simulates a complex such as a hotel or apartment with long, enclosed hallways, rooms on both sides and a balcony to create realistic commercial and residential training scenarios.
• Fourth floor: Simulates a condominium, a structure that can you can commonly find along the Gulf Coast, featuring an open balcony and forcible-entry doors.
• Roof level: Equipped with galvanized steel treadplate decking, two rope-rescue anchors and a 1,000-pound crane for raising equipment and training manikins.

In addition to the training tower, the facility also features:

• Burn building: A structure that provides realistic live-fire training in a controlled environment, with features such as two live-fire burn rooms, reconfigurable sliding doors and a dedicated fire and temperature control room.
• Trench box: Four shipping containers positioned in an L shape to create two trenches with different widths and tires secured to the walls, providing a realistic environment for technical rescue and trench-collapse training.
• Confined space maze: A maze constructed within a 40-foot shipping container with three levels of configuration, challenging firefighters to navigate tight, complex environments while wearing their gear.

The new facility will be used to train both new recruits and veteran firefighters alike, and guests got a close look at how the new training structures will work, with firefighters performing different demonstrations.

“That’s very rewarding to show off not only our facilities, but the capabilities of our firefighters, cause I encourage them to reach those classes to others, so to teach a class, you better be on your game, and I trust that they are,” Sealy said. “(…) That’s what I’m most proud of is our people. Having this facility is just a bonus for me.”