New East Bay fire training center lands $500K federal grant
The central hub (location TBD) will let fire crews practice fighting structure fires and wildfires, cleaning up hazmats and more, officials said.
Firefighters in Berkeley, Albany and other East Bay cities may soon have a live burn facility to practice critical skills, thanks to a $500,000 federal grant announced Tuesday.
U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon announced at a press conference that federal funds had been allocated to help create an East Bay Regional Fire Training Facility, a central hub that will train first responders from northern Alameda and western Contra Costa counties not only how to fight fires, but also how to suppress wildfires, clean up hazmat spills, respond to terrorism threats, fight electric vehicle fires, rescue people from the water and other 21st-century challenges.
Firefighters in Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, Kensington and Richmond have long coordinated trainings, but the new facility will create the first physical space where they can work together.
The location has not been determined yet.
"What a great day," said Simon. "It’s not often in this moment, in this administration, where we can come together and say we are bringing money back home. I am proud … to announce $500,000 … to secure an important and critical public safety infrastructure project."
A live burn facility is at the top of Berkeley Fire’s wish list and will probably be the first thing the new facility acquires, said Berkeley Fire Chief David Sprague.
It will allow the department to create mock structures of varying size using shipping-like containers, and flood them with heat, smoke and flames.
Firefighters, who have to make fast decisions in unpredictable environments, can then learn to fight fires in realistic situations.
"Skills cannot be built by reading a manual or watching a video," said Sprague. "They require repeated, realistic, hands-on training in conditions that reflect the real emergency situations our responders face."
Simon pointed out that the mission of firefighters has changed significantly in recent decades. Firefighters don’t just fight fires; they respond to homicides, car accidents, earthquakes and other dangerous situations.
The press conference, which was also attended by the mayors of Berkeley and Albany, the fire chief of Albany and the president of the Berkeley firefighters’ union, was held in Berkeley Fire's new headquarters at 1250 Ninth St.
Using $10 million in bond revenues and reserve funds from Measure FF, the fire department is combining four buildings to create a 55,000-square-foot facility.
The project should be complete in June, but the department has already moved out of its cramped offices in the Ronald T. Tsukamoto Public Safety Building at 2100 Martin Luther King Jr. Way into the largest part of the structure, said Sprague.
Emilie Raguso
The new headquarters will allow Berkeley Fire to consolidate operations that were previously spread over multiple buildings.
There will be a large Emergency Operations Center, rooms where firefighters can do mock emergency training calls, classrooms and an employee wellness space, one of the few in the country, said Sprague.
It will be open 24/7 and offer a workout space, and offices for specialists in rehabilitation, nutrition and mental performance. Eventually, there may be classes in mediation, breath work and yoga, he said.
"It’s going to be a game changer for the organization and the community," said Sprague.
