Photo by Erin Nelson.
Brady Johnson, a trainee with the Vestavia Hills Fire Department, performs a right-hand sweep with Lt. Justin Baker, lead fire training instructor, during search and rescue training with a new class of recruits at the Mountain Brook Fire Training facility April 28.
The Vestavia Hills City Council on Monday night, April 14, is expected to vote on a proposal to pay for a new tactical burn building to train firefighters on the site of the Mountain Brook Fire Department’s training facility.
The agreement between the two cities is another step forward in a partnership between the two fire departments that allow them to share training facilities.
The new burn building, to be installed by Vestavia, will enhance the facility’s capabilities. Unlike the current masonry structure, the upgraded unit will support live fire training with insulated burn rooms.
Vestavia Hills benefits because it can use the rest of Mountain Brook’s training center and doesn’t have to replicate those amenities by building its own stand-alone training center.
Mountain Brook’s facility, called the Over The Mountain Regional Training Center, is used by the Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, Homewood, Hoover and Rocky Ridge fire departments for individual and joint training exercises.
The Mountain Brook City Council approved the cooperative agreement with Vestavia Hills on March 24. The Vestavia Hills City Council had a first reading of its ordinance related to the agreement on March 24 and is scheduled to vote on it on Monday night.
In other business Monday night, the Vestavia Hills City Council is scheduled to vote on whether to accept an easement dedication from Steve Issis Sr. and FAM Properties that will allow the city of Vestavia Hills to build a new sign welcoming people to the city on part of the property that formerly housed the Issis & Sons furniture store near the intersection of U.S. 31 and Interstate 65.
See the full agenda for Monday’s meeting of the Vestavia Hills City Council, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Vestavia Hills City Hall.
