Orange Beach approves $1.3 million burn tower for fire training facility

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. - Orange Beach is moving ahead with the next phase of its fire training campus after city leaders approved a $1.3 million burn tower to provide firefighters with

more realistic, hands-on training for high-risk emergencies.

The project will add a live-fire training structure to the Fire Station No. 1 campus behind City Hall, where Orange Beach Fire Rescue has already been expanding its training and surf rescue operations. Fire Chief Jeff Smith recommended awarding the burn tower and installation contract to Roy Lewis Construction for $1.3 million during the July 7 City Council meeting, according to local reporting ahead of the meeting.

The burn tower is part of a broader investment in public safety training. The city previously announced that a new 10,000-square-foot training facility would house the department's Training Division and Surf Rescue Division, with space for offices, a 2,000-square-foot training room, a gym, showers, locker rooms, a kitchen/conference area and an apparatus bay for surf rescue vehicles.

City officials have described the training complex as a way to better prepare firefighters for emergencies they may not encounter every day but must be ready to handle safely and effectively. In a city news release, Smith called the training upgrades a "major investment in firefighter safety, preparedness, and professional development."

The new burn tower will build on other training improvements already underway. Orange Beach Fire Rescue recently took delivery of a flashover simulator, which allows firefighters to observe and train around the conditions that can lead to flashover - a dangerous fire event in which heat and gases ignite rapidly inside a structure. Division Chief of Training Austin Lesinger told WEAR-TV, in comments quoted by the city, that the simulator allows students to sit beneath smoke and fire layers while instructors control flow paths and ventilation points.

Bid documents show the city sought a contractor to provide materials and labor for delivery and installation of a burn tower at the Orange Beach Fire Department. The specifications called for a training structure, installation, delivery services and training-day classes for department personnel.

The project was rebid this summer, with the updated solicitation released June 2 and closing July 2, according to procurement tracking records. The earlier city bid package described the work as the "Burn Tower and Installation at Fire Training Facility," and city documents said the project would include all labor and materials needed for delivery and installation.

The planned live-fire training building is intended to reflect the kinds of structures firefighters may face in Orange Beach, including multistory residential buildings and condominium-style

layouts with exterior corridors. The city said the facility will also include built-in training props for ventilation, rope rescue and forcible entry.

The burn tower comes after the council previously approved nearly $2 million for construction of the broader fire training facility. Roy Lewis Construction was also the low bidder on that earlier phase, with a base amount of $1.88 million and alternates bringing the total to an amount not to exceed $1.94 million, according to prior reporting on the September council action.

For city leaders, the project is both a training investment and a space solution. Smith previously said the facility would help ease overcrowding in fire administration offices and provide

dedicated room for both the Training Division and Surf Rescue, which had outgrown existing space.

The Orange Beach City Council is responsible for approving contracts and awarding bids, among other municipal duties. With the burn tower approval, the city is positioning its fire department to train more often, in more realistic conditions and closer to home - a step Smith has said will help build "one of the premier firefighter training programs along the Gulf Coast."