BIG SKY — Things sure are heating up at the Big Sky Fire Department training facility, where firefighters cut their ribbon and unveiled the new facility in a unique way.
After 22 years in the making, the Big Sky Fire Department is beyond happy.
"It's a dream come true," says Big Sky Fire Chief Seth Barker.
We reported earlier this year that the new training facility is a partnership between the Big Sky Resort Tax District and the Big Sky Fire Department. It cost around $850,000 to construct.
WATCH PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Big Sky Fire excited for new training facility after 22 years in the making
"I would love to speak about how big the partnership has been with the community, our Fire Board, and the Bizrad board. They were instrumental in funding this project, and we couldn't have done it without them. It was just a big community event as far as getting this project from the dirt up to where it's standing today," Barker says.
This building stands three stories tall from the ground up, with three separate burning rooms.
Training Captain Dave Parker is fired up to get the building lit.
"I know this is the state's most state-of-the-art fire training facility," Parker says.
Just how hot can the steel rooms get?
"Up to 1,800 degrees, which a normal fire will usually get you between 1,000 and 1,200 degrees. There is a thermocouple inside—there are three in each. We can get live feedback of how hot that fire is getting for safety purposes and to keep records."
He and his crew are happy they won't need to travel to Central Valley Fire in Belgrade to train anymore. He says the training center offers plenty of real-world training.
"Confined space rescue, high angle rescue. We can do search, hose, ladder, and ventilation drills, all the stuff we don't normally do," Parker says.
The real work starts tomorrow as they demonstrate the facility's capabilities.
"We have the entire fire academy, the Gallatin Valley fire academy, coming out here tomorrow morning to start training," Barker says.
