Home > Media > Press Releases > Lord Lieutenant to open £2.2m. Fire Training Complex
Text only

22 May 2007

A new technical rescue training complex at fire HQ in Birkenshaw is to be opened on Thursday, 31 May by the county’s Lord Lieutenant, Dr. Ingrid Roscoe.

REPORTERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS WELCOME (11am).

Chief Fire Officer Phil Toase said that accommodation on the headquarters site was at a premium and that the existing training facilities desperately needed expanding and upgrading.

As part of the project, the outdated fire-smoke house and adjacent garages were demolished and a new tower provided to improve lighting on the drill square.

“Our firefighters deserve the best possible training, and the public of West Yorkshire demand the best trained firefighters,” said Mr. Toase. “This development will allow us to be far better equipped to meet the increasing demands we are faced with.” 
 
Councillor Gordon Beever, who chairs West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, said that the building represented the largest investment on the HQ site for many years and provided accommodation fit for the 21st. century.

The complex, in a prominent position by the Whitehall Road/Bradford Road junction, features a covered training area for practising vehicle extrication techniques, rescues from confined spaces and line rescues. It also has lecture rooms, staff rooms, a gym and showers, toilets and changing facilities. Further, it provides accommodation for the personnel development team formerly located off-site.

The three-storey building has a steel-frame and was built with a mixture of brick and pre-finished metal cladding. It has pitched roofs and was designed with disabled users in mind.