The state-of-the-art live fire unit, built on the drill yard at the HIWFRS headquarters in Eastleigh, is an upgrade and replacement for the previous facility which required updating.
It will now welcome firefighters from across the organisation and neighbouring services to train in realistic settings.
The modern facility is one of very few of its kind, presenting firefighters with the experience to tackle fires in controlled situations, in an environment where they are able to study how fire behaves in different conditions, and learn how best to respond.
It has been designed in conjunction with firefighters and will replicate what they could find themselves faced with when responding to fire-calls across Hampshire and Isle of Wight.
Arron Hedges, Head of Property and Facilities said:
“It is wonderful to see our new live fire unit up and running, with our firefighters already seeing the benefits of this modern facility.
“We are committed to investing in our estate which ranges from fire stations to buildings such as this which supports the training and development of our crews.
“Our team has been working hard alongside Morgan Sindall on this project and many others including the new fire station in Cosham set to open next year.”
The building is set to be formally opened in December when members of the Fire Authority will be invited to visit the unit, but as it is already in use guests won’t be able to go inside.
A flexible space for our crews to train in, the bespoke facility allows for a variety of scenarios including one setup which replicates firefighting on a ship.
The ground-floor is based upon a mechanics garage with the first-floor designed like a typical flat and the second-floor has been planned out with an office layout.
Work began on the 120sqm site at the start of this year before the keys were handed over to the HIWFRS Learning and Development team earlier this month.
Construction partner Morgan Sindall led the project which included a pre-cast concrete frame, fire-retardant tiles, live temperature monitoring and a specialist duct filtration system.
