File photo
Vestavia Hills Fire Department Batallion Chief C.J. Elliott talks to a group of fire department recruits during search and rescue training at the Over The Mountain Regional Training Center in Mountain Brook, Alabama, on Thursday, April 28, 2022.
The Vestavia Hills City Council this week agreed to spend a little more than $1 million for the construction of a fire training facility for firefighters.
A company called Lonestar Tactical Buildings will construct the four-story portable training facility on property owned by the city of Mountain Brook at 3579 East Street.
The Vestavia Hills Fire Department already uses Mountain Brook’s facility, called the Over The Mountain Regional Training Center, but this new burn building, which will cover at least 5,000 square feet, will enhance that training, officials said.
Unlike the current masonry structure at Mountain Brook’s facility, the upgraded unit will support live fire training with insulated burn rooms. It will be made of either 20-foot-long or 40-foot-long unused shipping containers and include seven exterior doors, 26 interior doors, 19 multipurpose windows, exterior stairs and stair landings with railings, among other features, records show.
The goal is to have the new training facility built and ready to use by the end of the year, but that will depend on supply availability, Vestavia Hills fire Chief Marvin Green said.
In other business Monday, the Vestavia Hills City Council agreed to dispose of five police vehicles that have been wrecked beyond repair and are being used for parts.
The vehicles include a 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe, 2016 Ford Focus, 2021 Ford Explorer and two 2023 Dodge Durangos, records show.
