Carpentersville to create new fire training facility on Tamarac

The Carpentersville Fire Department is creating a new training facility on Tamarac Drive so firefighters can train closer to home.

A $338,000 contract with Iowa American Rescue to create a modular container system using eight steel shipping containers, six of which the fire department already owns, was approved at this week’s Carpentersville Village Board meeting.

“This is a very exciting project for the fire department,” Carpentersville Fire Chief William Anaszewicz told trustees.

Contractors will build a three-story structure with interior rooms, hallways, stairs and attic spaces to simulate real-life fire scenarios for training, Anaszewicz said. Firefighters will also be able to train for flashover situations, he said.

The facility, to be located at 1075 Tamarac Drive on the grounds of the Public Works Department, “will provide firefighters the opportunity to train in realistic residential and commercial environments,” the chief said. It will also meet safety standards, including state and national requirements, he said.

Firefighters must complete 120 hours of training annually, Anaszewicz said. The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal and Insurance Service Office establish the requirements and number of training hours firefighters must undertake each year.

The department’s 70 firefighters do training three or four times a year in a certified training facility, he said.

“While textbook information is important, training in real-life environments builds the confidence and skills necessary to respond to an emergency. Training rooms, burn rooms and rescue props are all necessary for proper exercises in preparing a firefighter for when duty calls,” according to village documents.

The fire department currently uses Elgin Community College’s Public Training Center in Burlington.

“It’s an excellent facility and provides us with a lot of great opportunities, but there are limitations,” Anaszewicz said.

Among them are that firefighters drive nearly 38 miles roundtrip to get there and training must be scheduled around other communities, he said.

Additionally, ECC offers public safety programs so hundreds of students practice there throughout the year, Anaszewicz said.

“This facility is also designed with the future in mind,” Anaszewicz said. “Because it’s a modular construction, it will allow for components to be repaired and replaced, relocated or expanded on without having to reconstruct the entire facility.”

It’ll also be something the village can offer to other departments, at a cost.

Village Manager Brad Stewart said the other departments would be required to sign an intergovernmental agreement that dictates fees and other factors.

Trustee Jeff Frost said he believed it was important that the village not underwrite the cost of other departments using the center.

“As of right now, I’m on board with this, if it stays at $338,000 or if it goes down,” he said.

Village President John Skillman, a retired CFD firefighter, said the fire department having its own training facility is a boon for Carpentersville and could lead to the creation of a fire academy in the future.

“This is a win-win for the village,” Skillman said.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The (Elgin) Courier-News)