Almost there...
The final steps in completion of the Lee Broadbent Training Center are underway. The driveway access and street improvements are currently being prepared for concrete, which depending on the weather, could be finished within the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, a train the trainer class has been scheduled to teach personnel how to operate the facility.

Power poles were installed late last week. The pole pictured above features a transformer prop that will simulate a variety of electricity related incidents, such as downed or arching power lines.

Completion of the Lee Broadbent Training Center is rapidly approaching. We hope to celebrate the opening mid-October. Here are some recent photographs of the facility.

Paving began at the training center today. All areas immediately surrounding the training structures will be paved so that apparatus participating in exercises have easy access. The tower structure is erect and siding will begin going up soon.

Updated photographs from the training center.

Driving into St. Helens on the South side of town yesterday, you couldn't help but notice the tall yellow frame rising into the sky at the training center grounds. Construction on the 6-story building began on Thursday with the placement of the steel frame. Division Chief Ron Youngberg told members of CRFR that, "From here on out, it appears that work will be progressing non-stop on the site." He also mentioned that the Tech Rescue Tower is scheduled for assembly beginning May 1st.

A great deal of activity at the Lee Broadbent Training Center will begin this week. The most notable being construction on the training tower will begin mid-week. The 6 story tower will be the main training facility on the center grounds and will allow firefighters to train in live fire.

The Specialized Multi-Agency Rescue Team (S.M.A.R.T.), made up of firefighters from Columbia River Fire & Rescue, employees from Boise Paper and the City of St. Helens, have spent the first few days of April training. One of the scenarios was a confined space rescue with extrication. Team members utilized the vertical tank at the training center to practice their rescue techniques.

At our annual awards recognition dinner on February 23rd, we honored Board of Directors President Lee Broadbent with a special plaque for his dedication to this project. The plaque reads:

"Build it and they will come"

Heartfelt thanks for your vision, passion and tenacity in leading us to our long-sought-after goal of Fire Training Center for firefighters of Columbia River Fire & Rescue.

During the past few months, construction efforts have slowed due to weather. As we approach spring, we will begin to see more activity at the construction site. The facade of the Fast Trainer building is coming together. The building has four storefronts, one with a second story and so far, is the only building erect.

In less than two weeks, we again see some significant changes to the landscape of the training center grounds.

The FAST Trainer building is showing significant progress. Siding installation began in late December. The structure will represent storefronts to be used in a variety of training applications. In the foreground, preparation was being done for what will eventually be a storage facility for props and equipment that cannot be stored outside.

Members of Columbia River Fire and Rescue continue to meet each week with representatives from WRG Fire Training Simulation Systems Inc. to discuss the project and progress.

Bill Gee of WRG shows Lee Broadbent and Lt. Dave Coombs the continued development of the facility.

The Lee Broadbent Training Center received a very generous donation from Boise Paper on November 2, 2006. A retired storage tank was moved to the training site which will be utilized as a confined space technical rescue simulation prop.
The 29,000 tank was positioned upright and stands 46 feet tall. Confined space rescue is a common scenario for the Specialized Multi-Agency Rescue Team (S.M.A.R.T.) which is made up of personnel from Columbia River Fire And Rescue, Boise Paper and the City of St. Helens. The team consists of 24 members who train every 6 weeks for 8 hours. The partnership between public and private employees makes it one of only a few similar type of rescue teams across the nation. S.M.A.R.T Coordinator, Captain Randy Peterson of Columbia River Fire and Rescue, said "The confined space technical rescue training facility will be one of the best in the state, if not the region."

October has been a busy month at the training center site and the structures are beginning to take recognizable shape. Some of the accomplishments this month include the foundation being poured for both structures. The FAST building structure is erect and the DePriest prop has been sited and flatwork has been poured. We also received delivery of some of the portable props and a donation of precast pipe for confined space training. Finally, we began choosing paint colors for the buildings and enlisted the help of our Community Liaison Specialist, Hyla Ridenour to make some of the selections.

Construction on the training center is rapidly progressing! The transformation of the site can be seen on a daily basis.
Division Chief Brian Burright inspects the structural beams already set in place.

On Friday of each week, members of Columbia River Fire and Rescue meet with the engineer/contractor, WRG Fire Training Simulation Systems, Inc., to review the facility design and progress on the project.

More photographs from the groundbreaking ceremony.

Welcome to our Lee Broadbent Training Center blog. We will update this site as construction progresses. The live-fire training facility is a long-time dream of Columbia River Fire and Rescue's Board of Directors President, Lee Broadbent, who is a retired Division Chief from the District.
Groundbreaking for the center took place on September 8, 2006 at our training grounds on McNulty Way in St. Helens, OR. Construction has begun and completion of the project is expected in the fall of 2007. WRG Fire Training Simulation Systems, Inc is the contractor for the facility. The training center will allow emergency responders to simulate realistic scenarios while learning in a safe and controllable environment.