The year was 1980. Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter vied for the presidency. Americans were introduced to CNN and Pac-Man. Blondie’s “Call Me” was the year’s top song. And in remote Kotzebue, Alaska — population around 2,000 then and 3,000 now — the fire department took delivery of a new training structure.
A lot would be demanded of that structure — not only by local firefighters but by the town’s harsh conditions 30 miles above the Arctic Circle. On the Chukchi Sea, Kotzebue endures long winters with heavy snows, fierce winds and dangerous cold. In January the average high is just 6°F, the average low minus-7°F. Leaders wanted a building that could withstand both the punishing climate and repeated use.
What they got was the first training structure delivered by the company known then as Werner-Herbison-Padgett and today as WHP Trainingtowers. This was built with a unique proprietary design, using galvanized steel wall cladding derived from the company’s military-construction work, with deep corrugations that made it unusually thick and strong. It was the U.S.’ first metal fire training tower — and was it ever durable: In Kotzebue, that initial tower is still standing and in use today.
“The company was originally doing a lot of military-grade construction, when a fire chief saw this building system and said, ‘Hey, that would make a great fire training structure!’” recalled Joe Kirchner, WHP Trainingtowers’ chief operating officer. “That’s basically how we started the company. These were very strong and robust structures, and that translated well to the fire-training market.”
While both WHP Trainingtowers and the Kotzebue Fire Department now have a new generation of leaders, the company’s current CEO, Maggie Scaletty, and CPO, Steve Jahnke, visited Kotzebue in 2025 to learn how their structure was holding up 45 years later. Their answer: very well, thanks to their predecessors’ focus on durability.
“It even has the original burn room still in it,” added Kirchner. “It was great for them to meet up with this long-term customer and see the legacy there.”
WHP Trainingtowers has designed and installed more than 1,000 fire-training structures since that first build.
Structures are built for longevity
The line that grew from that initial structure in Alaska is now WHP Trainingtowers’ top seller, its Alarm Series. Its construction remains largely the same today, with strength and durability as primary hallmarks.
“The first thing that sets it apart from any other structure is the corrugated cladding,” said Kirchner. “It’s a structural surface that looks unique, but it serves a purpose. It’s the strongest wall system on the market — perfect for laddering, rappelling operations, any of that wall work. It will stand up to repetitive training.”
The galvanized steel it uses is hot-dipped rather than sprayed; immersion into high-temperature zinc galvanizing material ensures full bonding with a longer-lasting coating that can last five decades. This helps withstand rust and corrosion even in Arctic conditions.
“These structures see more water on the inside than the outside, so it’s very important to build them for longevity,” Kirchner added. “The galvanizing surface we put on all the steel is a weathering surface that’s designed to last 50-plus years.”
Wall cladding is vertical, rather than horizontal, and bolted every six inches for additional strength. Inside, steel columns provide secondary framing and a rigidity that supports the ability to modify buildings without major structural changes.
This reflects a building approach pioneered by the Behlen Manufacturing Company in the mid-20th century. Structures are pre-engineered using steel components manufactured off-site, then assembled on location. Key characteristics include rigid steel frames, factory-fabricated parts, corrugated metal panels for walls, and bolt-together construction rather than heavy on-site fabrication or welding. Benefits include reduced costs, standardized quality, simplified labor and large, open interior spaces for training and future expansion needs.
It’s a method that’s withstood ferocious Alaskan winters — and more: In 1955, the Atomic Energy Commission and Department of Defense constructed a “nuclear city” in Nevada to test how various metal building structures would fare against a nuclear attack. The Behlen building was one of only two structures to survive the detonation of a 30-kiloton nuclear device. It is preserved today in Nebraska.
To this sturdy foundation WHP Trainingtowers has added proprietary features such as live-fire burn rooms, thermal-lining systems, rappelling anchors and configurable training layouts.
“There are some kind of value-added things we’ve done,” said Kirchner. “We’ve added the galvanization throughout. We’ve added concrete to provide a more robust working surface. Door and window upgrades, a lot of accessory upgrades. There are always things that we’re looking at, as these buildings age, and we stay in touch with our customers to hear about ways that we can make them even better and longer lasting.”
A feature unique to WHP Trainingtowers is the Padgenite Interlock thermal lining system used in structures’ burn rooms. This is a high-temperature insulating wall and ceiling system made of calcium-silicate tiles that line the structure’s interior to create a protective barrier between the building and flames. Mounted on channels to allow expansion, contraction and individual replacement, it can withstand temperatures up to 2,000°F and allow repeated burns without cooldown periods.
Base models are highly customizable
While the Alarm Series comes with 15 base models, it is highly customizable, with multiple roof types, facades, colors and options. WHP Trainingtowers consultants work closely with customers to determine and build around the needs of their specific community. As a starting point, the company’s free Build-A-Tower tool lets users map out their desired training setup and get a price for it.
While Alarm Series structures are fixed, engineered buildings, they can nonetheless be expanded if a department wants to add to theirs over time. New sections and additional structures may require space to be set aside during the initial planning and design phase. (A modular alternative is the company’s MODx series.) The company also offers a broad range of props and accessories to customize builds; these include heat, smoke and hazmat props; stairs and other egress options; breaching and shoring props; maze and confined-space setups; standpipes and sprinklers; rappelling options; ventilation fans and more.
“A search-and-rescue maze system is something that works nicely,” noted Kirchner. “A major benefit of the Alarm Series is the open floor plan on the inside — there are no structural impediments. Departments can recreate spaces within the structure for different search-and-rescue type layouts. Also, obviously there are live-burning abilities, where they can do Class A or Class B burns in the structure, but even if they’re not doing that, they can add smoke with a smoke-distribution system. It’s a water-based smoke without carcinogens.”
The Alarm Series is compatible with the requirements of the newly consolidated NFPA 1400 Standard on Fire Service Training. Safety features include replaceable chop-out hatches installed flush with the roof to prevent tripping and railings to prevent falls. Rappel anchors and other key safety equipment are tested up to 10,000 pounds. The series’ eight roof types include asphalt shingles to provide an accurate look and feel to ventilation operations on residential roofs.
Maintenance is minimal. Concrete floors are waterproof, and if a metal panel is somehow damaged, it can be individually switched out. Bolt holes are predrilled and powdercoated, and seams are weather-sealed.
“The burn rooms obviously see the most wear and tear, so there’ll be some maintenance and inspections required there,” said Kirchner, an alternate on the NFPA’s committee on facilities for fire training and associated props. “With the moving parts, the doors and the windows, it’s just making sure those are operable and latching and able to be opened. And then just going through and checking if there are any areas that need to be cleaned up and retouched up with galvanizing.”
The company recommends doing that annually, and NFPA 1400 requires structural inspections every five years for Class A structures and every 10 years for Class B. WHP Trainingtowers has inspection personnel on staff who can perform these audits for customers.
Training is a necessity
Alarm Series training structures will have long and inexpensive lives for departments that install them, but they do come with an upfront investment. Training can be a fertile area for grants that help defray such costs; therefore, WHP Trainingtowers also offers financing that can help departments spread the investment out a bit.
“We have financing available for all our products,” said Kirchner. “Many folks like to budget in advance for these things, but at the same time, they’re out there buying trucks and other things that are necessities. But training is really a necessity as well, and financing opens up options for those folks.”
Within the company, familiar points of contact help guide customers through purchase, preconstruction, the actual build and beyond. The goal is to be a one-stop shop that allows departments — for which such major training investments are typically fairly rare — to leverage the company’s lengthy experience and full range of expertise.
“You know, we have all these standard structures designed, but I can’t tell you of us ever selling one of them — everything we do ends up being customized in some sense for each customer,” said Kirchner. “That’s why we have a preconstruction team. This is probably the first and last training structure many folks will ever be involved in designing, and we’ve done hundreds. So we like to collaborate with our customers from the beginning and let them lean on our experience.
“We have customer service, we have training programs, and we have inspection programs. It’s all basically turnkey, but it really helps us understand how our customers use their structures and create better structures in the future.”
For more information, visit WHP Trainingtowers.
MODx and MODx Modular are trademarks of WHP Trainingtowers. WHP, WHP Trainingtowers and Alarm Series are registered trademarks of WHP Trainingtowers.
