Oshawa Fire Services opens state-of-the-art training facility

The City of Oshawa and Oshawa Fire Services officially celebrated the opening of a new fire training facility on April 14. Members of Council were on hand to take part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony and watch a live fire training demonstration.

The new state-of-the-art facility is located on the southfield of the Oshawa Executive Airport, off Stevenson Road North. Comprised of purpose-built training units, the facility combines leading edge instructional programs that train firefighters on multiple training simulations such as fire behaviour, search and rescue, ventilation and technical rescue.

The multi-storey facility consists of nine modified shipping containers configured to form a simulated four-storey building. The facility burns Class “A” materials, with two of the shipping containers containing burn chambers. It features a stair tower to an upper roof platform, moveable walls, bailout windows, repelling beams and multiple hose access points to help facilitate numerous training scenarios.

In 2021, Oshawa City Council approved investments in Oshawa Fire Services, including a $1.5 million investment to develop a fire training facility/tower to be located temporarily at the South Field of the Oshawa Executive Airport. The investment was funded with $1.125 million from the Fire Protection Development Charge Reserve and $375,000 from the Civic Property Development Reserve.

The development of the new fire training facility/tower supports the recommendation in the Fire Master Plan and provides opportunities for Oshawa Fire Services to perform vital health and safety training in live fire training exercises, search & rescue, high-rise firefighting and various other firefighting disciplines. The fire training facility also provides partnership opportunities for other fire services and fire education post-secondary programs.

About the Fire Master Plan

In November 2020, City Council endorsed and approved the 2020 Fire Master Plan and Community Risk Assessment along with implementing operational recommendations and strategies to reduce the existing dispatch time and turnout time components of the Oshawa Fire Services current total response time.

The 2020 Fire Master Plan, which was led by Fire Chief Derrick Clark and the Fire Services Senior Management team, was informed by public input, legislation, industry best practices, Oshawa Fire Services and the Oshawa Professional Fire Fighters Association. The 10-year plan services as strategic direction for the City’s fire services.

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Quotes:

“Council’s $1.5 million investment in a new state-of-the-art fire training facility for Oshawa Fire Services demonstrates our commitment to the safety of our fire crews and to saving lives and property in our great city,” said Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter. “This new fire training tower provides opportunities to train our firefighters on an entirely new level with controlled simulations complemented by world-class instructional programs.”

“The key to saving lives and exceptional firefighting is elite training. This is why it is so important to have a training facility that allows our firefighters to perform their jobs to the highest standards,” said Councillor Brian Nicholson, Chair of the Safety and Facilities Services Committee. “I am proud to see this facility open and providing real-world fire scenario training to our firefighters.”

“Congratulations to Oshawa Fire Services on their new fire training facility. Training is such a crucial part of saving lives and this facility provides for leading-edge training through live fire training exercises, search and rescue, technical rescue and more,” said Councillor Rick, Vice-Chair of the Safety and Facilities Services Committee.

“Oshawa professional firefighters have earned a reputation for their excellence in responsively serving our community since 1856 when their first piece of equipment was a one-handed pumper cart. Today, as the largest fire department in the Region of Durham, the Oshawa Fire Services new training facility is an example of how far we have come to serve our growing population,” said Councillor Tito-Dante Marimpietri, Ward 2, Regional and City Councillor. “Our support for the resources directed toward advancing the delivery of public safety in our community is a long-standing commitment I continue to be as proud of as I am of those delivering it - past, present and future.”

“I am proud of the work that our firefighters do each and every day to serve our community and protect our residents. This new facility and the training simulations it offers is integral to continuing to advance their skills and to continuing to position Oshawa Fire Services as a model for fire service,” said Councillor Jim Lee, Ward 2, City Councillor.

Photo caption: 

Members of City Council and Oshawa Fire Services officially celebrated the opening of a new fire training facility on April 14 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.