[Press Release] : City building slated to be demolished gets new life as training ground for recruit firefighters

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Battalion Chief Gary L. Warren Jr. - (573) 499-7035 

City building slated to be demolished gets new life as training ground
for recruit firefighters

COLUMBIA, MO (March 11, 2008) - The former Farm & Home Savings
Building, last used by the city of Columbia as an annex for Utility
Billing, Purchasing and Payroll, and now vacant, will be used by the
Columbia Fire Department for training before the facility is demolished.
The building will soon be razed to make way for the new addition to City
Hall. 

On Wednesday, March 12, between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., the Columbia Fire
Department’s Basic Recruit School members will conduct search and
rescue training exercises in a "smoke" filled environment at the City
Annex Building, located on the northwest corner of Eighth and Broadway.
The "smoke" used to simulate a smoke-filled environment is theatrical
smoke and is non-toxic. No live fire training will occur in this
building. 

“The opportunity to conduct these practical skills in a real building
versus our burn building provides an air of realism that our recruits
will benefit from in the long run,” says Battalion Chief Gary L.
Warren Jr., training officer of the Columbia Fire Department.

Later, days prior to the building being demolished, the recruits will
conduct forcible entry tactics on the doors, walls and windows.

As a reminder, the recruit firefighters (three from Columbia and two
from Jefferson City) will participate in the Columbia Fire
Department’s 11-week, 440 hour Basic Recruit School (BRS 08-1).
Upon successful completion of BRS they will receive certifications from
the University of Missouri Fire Rescue Training Institute, Missouri
Division of Fire Safety and the International Fire Service Accreditation
Congress in Firefighter I, Firefighter II, Hazardous Materials Awareness
and Hazardous Materials Operations, to name a few.

BRS 08-1 will conclude with a graduation ceremony at the city of
Columbia’s Council Chambers on Thursday, May 15, at 7 p.m.

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