Orange Beach Fire Rescue Expands Training Capabilities With New Facility, Flashover Simulator

Orange Beach Fire Rescue is in the midst of a significant expansion of its training capabilities, with a new training facility nearing completion and a flashover simulator now on site to help prepare firefighters for the most dangerous conditions they may encounter on the job.

A new 10,000-square-foot training facility is expected to open in late June and will house both the department’s Training Division and its Surf Rescue Division. Roy Lewis Construction was awarded the low-bid contract for the project, valued at $1.9 million, in September. The improvements are being built on the Fire Station No. 1 campus, located behind Orange Beach City Hall.

In addition to the new building, the department this week took delivery of a flashover simulator, and a new live fire training building is planned for construction in the near future. Together, the projects represent one of the most substantial investments in firefighter training infrastructure in the department’s history.

“A Major Investment in Firefighter Safety”

Fire Chief Jeff Smith said the combination of new tools marks a turning point for how the department prepares its personnel for high-risk emergencies.

“The addition of the flashover simulator, along with the continued development of our training facility and live fire training building, represents a major investment in firefighter safety, preparedness, and professional development,” Smith said. “These tools allow our personnel to train for realistic, high-risk incidents in a controlled environment so they are better prepared to protect our community when real emergencies occur.”

Smith credited Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon and the City Council for their continued support of the department’s training initiatives, saying their backing has been essential to “recognizing the importance of providing firefighters with the training and resources needed to operate safely and effectively.”

“Their commitment to public safety is helping build one of the premier firefighter training programs along the Gulf Coast,” Smith said.

What the New Facility Will Include

The new training facility is designed to serve both the department’s training staff and its Surf Rescue Division, which handles water rescues along Orange Beach’s stretch of coastline. Planned features include:

• A 2,000-square-foot training and meeting room that can be divided into smaller sections
• Office space for training and Surf Rescue staff
• A gym, showers, locker room and kitchen/conference area
• An apparatus bay area for surf rescue vehicles

Simulating a Flashover Safely

The newly delivered flashover simulator gives firefighters a chance to experience the conditions that precede a flashover — one of the most dangerous phenomena in structural firefighting — without the danger of an uncontrolled fire.

Division Chief of Training Austin Lesinger explained how the simulator operates. “The way that it works is it’s a controlled environment, there is a platform in there where the fire is created,” Lesinger said this week. “Students are able to sit beneath the layer of smoke and fire that is over their heads and basically we use flow paths and different ventilation points to create the environment inside of the box.”

Firefighters must be prepared for what the department describes as “low frequency, high risk” incidents — emergencies they may not face often, but which can turn deadly quickly if crews aren’t properly trained to recognize the warning signs. The flashover simulator is designed to build that recognition by letting firefighters train on fire behavior, situational awareness, decision-making and survival skills under conditions that closely mirror the real thing.

Looking Ahead to Live Fire Training

The planned live fire training facility will go a step further, giving firefighters hands-on experience with the kinds of structures they are most likely to respond to in Orange Beach. The building will be designed to mimic occupancies common in the department’s response area, including condominiums with exterior corridors and multistory residential buildings — a reflection of the area’s dense concentration of beachfront and coastal housing.

The facility will also include built-in props for practicing ventilation, rope rescue and forcible entry, rounding out a training campus intended to prepare Orange Beach firefighters for the full range of emergencies they may face while protecting both residents and the large number of visitors who flock to the city’s beaches each year.

What a Flashover Is

A flashover happens when the hot gases gathering at the ceiling of a burning room heat everything below them to the point of ignition, so the whole room bursts into flame almost at once. Firefighters are taught to watch for warning signs such as rapidly building heat, a banking layer of dark smoke and flames rolling across the ceiling.

Live-fire training is governed by the National Fire Protection Association standard NFPA 1403, which sets safety requirements for training evolutions using live fire.