Northwest Fire May Build $9.2 Million Training Facility

By Dan Sorenson, ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Northwest Fire and Rescue District may soon have its own $9.2 million training academy, no longer depending on the city of Tucson’s facility.

The district’s governing board heard a pitch from a consultant hired to develop a business plan for the proposed training academy, funded under a $37.5 million bond election last year.

Consultant Bill Booth said the district now requires 246,000 personnel hours to stay up to standards on training, and projected that would grow to 350,000 hours within five years. Booth was the project manager for the district’s consultant, Interact Business Group of Lake Forest, Calif.

The projections were based on the assumption that the district, now serving 114,000 residents and covering 129 square miles, would grow in population by 30 percent over the next 10 years.

Northwest Fire District and most other Tucson-area fire departments use the city’s training facility on South Wilmot Road. But Booth said the demand for that training facility was causing scheduling problems for the district.

A survey of local fire agencies and municipal governments showed that there would be substantial demand for the use of a Northwest Fire District training facility by outside agencies, Booth said. He projected that in the first year of operation, rentals to outside agencies could generate $92,000.

The proposed training facility would have a 29,000-square-foot main building with offices for academy staff, seven classrooms, a locker room, bays for two firetrucks and several training structures.

The training buildings would simulate firefighting in a two- story home, a five-story commercial building and a tower. Other training features would include a driving simulator, a smoke maze and hazardous-materials fire.

When the space isn’t being used for training, district officials are also considering offering it for use by community groups holding meetings, or for functions including CPR classes.

Booth projected maintenance costs on the high-tech buildings, including employees, at $265,000 the first year, increasing to $381,000 in the fifth year of operation.

Chief Jeff Piechura said the bonding project will also include a $2 million administration building. Both would be located adjacent to the district’s fleet maintenance and warehouse facility off Ina Road just west of Interstate 10.

In other action, the board approved a $281,586 contract with Adolfson & Peterson Construction for pre-construction services on a new station to be built on Star Grass Drive near Cortaro Farms Road.

* Contact reporter Dan Sorenson at 434-4073 or dsorenson@azstarnet.com.