ROCK SPRINGS – Providing top notch care and safety for all residents in the county has been one of the most important issues for all government agencies in Sweetwater County. A project that will not only give first responders a state-of-the-art training facility, but will bring fire projection north of Rock Springs is moving forward.

Sweetwater County Fire District No. 1  has been working on a combined fire station and training facility north of Rock Springs for some time now. The construction drawings are finished and the district is now moving forward with securing funding for the project.

Recently, as part of the application for State Land and Investment Board and United States Department of Agriculture grant funding, the city of Rock Springs provide a letter of support for the project.

“It is the intention of Fire District No. 1 to provide a platform which accommodates better coverage for fire and emergency operations for the residents and business of Fire District No. 1 located north of Rock Springs,” SWFD No. 1 Chief Jim Wamsley explained. “At the same time, one of the major goals is to offer access to a comprehensive training facility which assists in training and certification for all disciplines of public safety and related fields. This includes the many industrial and mine rescue teams from area industry, law enforcement, fire departments, emergency medical services and transportation entities such as rail and highway.”

Insurance benefits

The fire station will be located to meet the fire protection needs of the residents currently outside the five-mile driving radius of the existing district fire station on College Drive. Wamsley said putting the station out north not only gives the area quicker response and better protection, it also will lower insurance costs for those residents.

Wamsley said not only is it good for current residents but it is the area which has seen the most development and has the most potential for development and will have positive effects for that as well.

“This will enhance the Insurance Service Office Public Protection Class Rating, allowing lower fire insurance premiums for both residences and businesses in the area north of Rock Springs,” Wamsley reported.”Insurance premiums in that area have increased as much as 200 percent in recent year’s as ISO has begun enforcing the five driving miles from a fire station rule of the PPC Rating System. The current PPC rating for the areas outside of five driving miles of the existing fire station is a 10-defined as no protection.”

At the recent visit to the Rock Springs Council,  a Councilman who knows a little about insurance, Rob Zotti, focused on this. He said the insurance benefits from this alone is very beneficial. He said not only will it help those north of Rock Springs but also those folks in Reliance. He said this is a tremendous benefit for the entire area.

College opportunity

Another key part of the new project is a college residency program that will be included in the business model for the new facility. The station will  contain six dormitories for college students with shower and restroom facilities separate from those dedicated to the normal response and use of the building. In return for a specified amount of station staffing time, the college residents will be provided with a dorm room for the term of their enrollment at Western Wyoming Community College.

“This program will benefit the residents of Fire District No. 1 by providing staffing for little more than the cost of utilities and oversight, while at the same time alleviating pressure on current dorm occupancy rates at the college,” Wamsley said. The vision is to tie the residency program to specific curricula at WWCC. It is hoped that a fire science or fire science leadership and management program can be brought into WWCC’s programs in the future to aid in the applicability of this program to both the college and to public safety as a whole.”

To sum it up, Wamsley told Sweetwater NOW, there is a great knowledge between all of the departments and industry teams in the area and it is time to expand on this and provide this education to those who have a desire to be in the field.

Training grounds

The training grounds will consist of a prefabricated live burn facility and training tower, concrete pads for vehicle extrication training evolutions, propane-fueled fire props and fixed industrial props such as industrial vessels and superstructure and rail cars and highway freight vehicles.

The burn facility and training tower will house facilities for both “cold-smoke” and live fire training for firefighting personnel from public and private entities. Other training opportunities will include forcible entry, confined space rescue, high angle and industrial rescue and access for aerial fire apparatus training.

The vehicle extrication pad is large enough to accommodate multiple vehicles scenarios, while containing any potential releases of oil and antifreeze from the vehicles, allowing such spills to be easily cleaned up and disposed of. Additionally, the extraction pad will have an area specified as a heliport for emergency use in conjunction with station facilities to complement aerial missions as needed.

Propane-fueled fire props planned for the LPG area include a residential propane tank prop, a split-flange prop, a “Christmas tree” prop and a vehicle fire prop. All of these will be fueled by propane from an on-site 1,000-gallon propane tank. Wamsley said this type of prop eliminates the release of hazardous and toxic fumes normally encountered in real-life situations while, at the same time, it provides a realistic training environment with no residual products of combustion to be cleaned up or mitigated.

The concert of fixed industrial props is aimed at acquiring suitable industrial vessels and rail vehicles to provide realistic confined space and high angle rescue venues and allow simulation of hazardous material releases as might be encountered at both fixed industrial sites and highway and rail emergencies.

“The overall layout of the training ground also provides an area for apparatus driver training which is not currently available in a convenient manner,” Wamsley said. “The full range of apparatus maneuvering will be available to trainers and students for learning and continuing education of driver-operator skills.”

Other services

While pointing out the obvious advantages, Wamsley also spoke about several small advantages which may go unnoticed. One of these is the facility will provide office space which may be leased to other local public entities. Wamsley said the Sweetwater County Sheriff has expressed an interest in occupying one office in lieu of the satellite station currently housed in a portable office trailer and the Sweetwater County Fairgrounds.

“This would establish a law enforcement presence in the area that would benefit the facility and the area as a while,” Wamsley explained. “One of the neighbors of the facility, Vase Mortuary, has already indicated that the construction and greater public safety presence of the Fire District No. 1 facility will help curb incidents of vandalism at the Rest Haven Memorial Gardens Cemetery.”

There will also be meeting/conference room spaces. The classroom space allows approximately 1,400 square feet which can be divided into two independent classrooms which open onto an outdoor classroom space. Wamsley said the idea is to provide an area which can be secluded for officer in-service.

Wrap-up

At the council meeting, Zotti also said he had a chance to see the drawings and was impressed with the facility. Rock Springs Mayor Carl Demshar said he met with Wamsley and said the location will not only benefit those residents north but will also be a great asset for mutual aid between the district and city departments. Community from industry, Demshar said the partnership with industry would be another valuable aspect of the facility.

With the construction document phase complete, the district is waiting for response on the grant requests. Wamsley said if everything goes perfectly, they could see a little movement on construction towards the end of November. However, he said the most likely scenario will be this springs of 2015 if they get good news on their funding requests.