Excerpts from the DailyChronicle.com:
The DeKalb Fire Department secured a $239,000 federal grant to buy a mobile training tower for high-rise fires and the city of DeKalb provided a $21,727 match.
Having the mobile tower gives the fire department permanent training equipment, as well as a tool to learn how to fight fires in taller structures. Officials said the DeKalb area has some 30 buildings that would be considered high-rise. The mobile tower is about the height of a four-story building. It is equipped with a four-landing staircase, six windows, a smoke machine, standpipe and sprinkler systems, and a confined space simulator.
The money for the mobile tower came from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant. The annually awarded grants are for critically needed resources to equip and train emergency personnel to recognized standards, enhance operations efficiencies, foster interoperability, and support community resilience.
Historically, the fire department has relied on donations of houses and other structure that were to eventually be demolished to use for training. Although the home donations are unpredictable and sometimes sporadic, even with now having the mobile tower, the homes are still needed.
The tower is currently housed at the DeKalb Municipal Airport, but can be dropped off at any of the department’s three stations to conduct training drills. Firefighters have not begun training in the mobile tower yet, but they will start in the coming weeks. DFD is looking for a permanent storage space for the tower, especially since it has to be stored indoors during the winter months.
DeKalb fire officials plan to allow other fire departments in the county to use the tower for training.
“Right now, DeKalb (county) fire departments, even though we work very well together, we don’t train together. This is really going to help us to strengthen that bond,” said Jeff McMaster, DeKalb deputy fire chief.
