Fire departments typically employ lots of handy, independent types who like to tackle their own challenges. They may call for assistance when they need it, but often not before trying to work things out on their own.
That’s a positive characteristic and valuable to their jobs. But as many a would-be handyman has discovered, it can lead you awry if your reach exceeds your grasp.
That’s certainly the case with fire training towers. It’s entirely possible to coordinate the design and construction of your own structure and get excellent results. But it’s difficult and can pose a range of prickly challenges:
- Each step requires expertise — you’d better have good people.
- They must be acquainted and experienced with the laws, standards and unique requirements around public safety and fire training.
- They’ll have to communicate, coordinate and integrate with each other, without gaps or missteps in handoffs.
- Accountability may suffer, with blame-shifting among participants when problems arise.
- It’s harder to realize cost savings.
A design-build approach that entrusts conception and construction to one firm can alleviate much of that worry. Entrusting it all to one that specializes in fire training builds and can manage the entire end-to-end process can eliminate the rest.
For the fire service, that’s WHP Trainingtowers, a Missouri-based firm that’s been delivering durable, purpose-built training structures to fire departments for more than 45 years. While the company will happily provide structures departments can have installed, it also offers a turnkey approach that includes the entire suite of design and construction services, along with ongoing service for the structure’s working life.
“One of our key distinctions is that we’re actually a general contractor and licensed in every state that requires a license to build fire training towers,” said Maggie Scaletty, the company’s CEO. “Some companies may just supply the equipment and direct the customer to contract with an installer who has a license in their state. It’s very cumbersome to meet the general contractor requirements and have licenses in all these states, but it’s a true advantage for us.”
One build requires many perspectives
That’s true for buyers as well. With the turnkey process — available for both the company’s fixed towers and customizable Alarm Series, as well as its modular towers and popular MODx series — WHP Trainingtowers experts can work with department personnel throughout each phase of the project. It breaks down the steps in its facility design guide:
- Define the project’s mission, budget and how the structure will be used.
- Evaluate potential building sites, including future expansion needs.
- Produce and refine a layout design and engineered drawings.
- Seek necessary permits and approvals, with legal and procurement support where needed.
- Complete the build (site/earthwork; utilities; foundation/concrete; structure fabrication/erection; burn room liner/refractory work; fuel system/controls; heat-rated doors, windows and roofing; props, stairs and anchor points; paving, drainage and fencing).
- Perform verification testing and training before use.
Handled separately, such a project scope could involve a dozen firms or more, not to mention local officials. And each handoff between firms is a chance for cost and responsibility to slip.
“When you build a fire training tower, so many different parties can be involved,” Scaletty noted. “You have the manufacturer, you have architects, you have engineers, you have construction personnel, and then the firefighters who are the end users of it. The challenge is that each discipline within the process sees the facility differently: Engineers focus on structural and technical requirements. Construction teams focus on the installation and build. They understand how to do that; manufacturing understands products and specifications. And ultimately, firefighters understand how the structure will actually be used and has to meet their needs. So in our eyes, a successful training facility requires all these perspectives under one roof.”
Fire towers are a different animal
WHP Trainingtowers recruits for that, seeking not only construction and fire service veterans but “Swiss army knives” with multidisciplinary experience and skills. Chris Lacombe came with those, having served as an assistant fire chief and sheriff’s deputy along with 30 years of construction background. Now he handles sales and inspections for the company.
He’s seen some things. “I also inspect other people’s products, not just WHP’s,” Lacombe said, “and I’ve encountered some that didn’t come out as well as hoped.”
A common early misstep can occur when a department buys a tower and tries to save money by having someone else erect it. Even if they’re experienced in metal buildings, fire towers are a different animal, and such partners may discover they’re unprepared for all that’s entailed. If they can’t complete the job, it can trigger delays and increase costs.
Shipping containers, which have grown popular over the past decade, can also be the wrong choice. “Containers are built for transporting goods — they’re not designed for the fire training function,” Scaletty said. Their roofs aren’t load-bearing, cutting doors and windows can weaken their integrity, they can pose NFPA challenges, and their residual chemicals and paint compounds can be safety hazards. Heat, water and corrosion may also shorten their lives.
Burn linings are another unique twist — commercial buildings don’t have them.
“It’s a special product, and they’re very custom,” said Lacombe. “There are many types. WHP has the best one in my opinion, but it’s very technical. So when you erect this metal structure, you have to put this lining inside that’s critical to the life of the building, and it has to be done exactly. I’ve gone to inspect them and walked in and immediately seen installation problems that can damage the fire lining, which in turn can damage the structure of the building. So not only can you have issues getting it built properly, but five years down the road, you could have structural damage because it wasn’t done properly in the beginning.”
Those repair bills can grow as high as six figures.
A unique aspect of WHP’s structures is their bolt-based construction. Both fire linings and entire buildings are bolted together, potentially involving tens of thousands of bolts. That means there’s minimal welding to rust or crack, but it’s something a normal metal contractor wouldn’t see. They must often accommodate add-ons like stairs, ladders, rappelling accessories, mazes, confined spaces and other training aids. Training structures also need drainage in burn areas, heat-resistant materials and other unique features. “You have a lot of intricate things a standard contractor would just not be used to doing,” added Lacombe.
‘Knowledge doesn’t get passed on’
Beyond an end-to-end build, WHP Trainingtowers can provide other levels of assistance to ensure a successful project.
For contractors building its structures, the company offers a class on doing it right. It can also retrofit burn rooms in any nonflammable structure with Padgenite tiles. And its engineers can inspect not only the company’s structures but other metal, concrete, CMU and container structures both regularly and for compliance with the newly consolidated NFPA 1400.
WHP Trainingtowers’ structures don’t need much in the way of maintenance, but like any valuable investment, a fire training tower is worth taking care of.
“We’ll spend $1 million on a fire truck and expect it to last 12–15 years,” said Lacombe. “Fire departments have a hard time spending a fraction of that on a building that will last 50 years and train hundreds of firefighters.”
“A lot of departments want the most they can get for their money at that particular point in time, and they don’t think about longevity,” added Scaletty. “The way we see it, the test of a training facility isn’t how it operates when it’s handed off at the ribbon cutting — it’s whether firefighters can safely and effectively train in it 20, 30, even 40 years from now. The multigenerational use of a fire training tower is something a lot of people don’t think about.”
Having done inspections all over the country, Lacombe has found few departments maintain their buildings properly.
“When I’m done with my inspection, I always do a walkthrough and point out my findings to the chief and training people,” he said. “In 100% of those, I have taught them something they did not know about that building. There can be a large turnover in training — guys move up or retire, and knowledge doesn’t get passed on. People say, ‘Well, nobody ever told me that.’ Well, OK, that’s why you now have $30,000 worth of damage from not doing it properly. It’s eye-opening.”
The turnkey option, however, offers advantages not otherwise obtainable. Beyond the experienced personnel, it provides a single point of contact, and thus simplified management, for the duration of a project. It also averts warranty problems that can result from having multiple players within a project.
“People say, ‘Well, nobody ever told me that.’ Well, OK, that’s why you now have $30,000 worth of damage from not doing it properly. It’s eye-opening.”
“If the manufacturer and the erector or the constructor are two different parties, the chances of getting something warrantied are very slim, because they’re going to blame each other for any problems,” noted Lacombe. “With WHP you have one person to call, and they won’t pass the buck.”
While lots of factors impact cost, making it hard to generalize, that efficiency and lack of challenges among multiple players can often provide a more affordable experience that requires fewer man-hours and is less susceptible to cost overruns.
“We have retired firefighters on our preconstruction team that can really look at the budget and help determine what a department might need based on the types of structures in their area,” said Megan Kirchner, the company’s marketing manager. “They can help departments get the best training structure available within their budget, with accessories and props they might not even have thought about.”
WHP Trainingtowers also has a contract with the nationwide cooperative purchasing organization Sourcewell that can simplify and streamline purchasing its range of products and services.
For more information, visit WHP Trainingtowers.
Padgenite is a trademark of WHP Trainingtowers. WHP and WHP Trainingtowers are registered trademarks of WHP Trainingtowers.
