Orange Beach City Council unanimously approved a bid for the construction of a new fire training facility at its Sept. 16 meeting.

According to the agenda item, the lowest bidder was Roy Lewis Construction Corporation for a base amount of $1,885,000. Three alternate additions to the facility were included in the budget, making the total an amount not to exceed $1,941,800.

These alternate additions include an $18,100 front entry aluminum canopy, $31,000 for partition walls and $7,700 for taller roll-up doors.

The agenda item states the project can exceed the budget for the cost of the removal and replacement of "unsuitable soils," which amounts to $30 per cubic yard.

As previously reported by GCM, the 10,000-square-foot project is set to serve as the new home for the fire department's training and surf rescue divisions.
Orange Beach City Administrator Ford Handley previously said the facility is to have a 2,000-square-foot training room, an office space and an area for surf rescue vehicles.

Other amenities to be added to the facility include showers, a locker room for surf rescue personnel and a fitness space to "support ongoing health and wellness initiatives."

The City of Gulf Shores also recently approved a bid for the construction of a new fire station training tower, which came to a total of $772,081.51, which was $200,000 over the project's estimated budget.

The four-story tower is to be the final component in the Gulf Shores Fire Department Training Facility. It is to be designed to simulate different scenarios for emergency response the department is likely to encounter in the city.