Herman Brice training complex moves forward
By John Johnston
Managing Editor
Utility easements for telecommunications, water, sewer and electricity have now been provided by Palm Beach County commissioners in the on-going constructing of the Palm Beach County Fire and Rescue Department’s (PBFR) Herman W. Brice fire rescue complex on Pike Road between Southern Boulevard and Belvedere Road.
The county is constructing the complex on property partially county-owned and partially leased from the Solid Waste Authority (SWA)
In 2005 the county bought 2.66 acres from the Lake Worth Drainage District adjacent to the Brice site – about which an agreement earlier this year requires the SWA to reimburse the county $1.1 million for land acquisition and shared infrastructure costs. In exchange, the county has agreed to grant SWA a drainage easement, access to a dry retention area and a positive legal outfall.
An “outfall” is the discharge point of a waste stream into a body of water; alternatively it may be the outlet of a river, drain or a sewer where it discharges into a lake, or the ocean, said commissioners.
The Plan
According to Palm Beach County Fire and Rescue Training and Safety Division Chief Vicki Sheppard, the Brice training complex “has been designed to provide safe, controlled, and realistic training simulations designed to meet the challenging and complex needs of the fire service in a comprehensive environment.”
The Florida Bureau of Fire Standards has approved Fire Rescue's design and “we can anticipate certification as a State of Florida Fire Training Center once construction is complete,” said Sheppard.
The 40-acre complex – expected to be fully operational by August of this year -- is located on Pike Road, near the entrance to the Florida Turnpike. The complex houses fire-rescue's administrative offices, training classrooms, practical training areas and an apparatus and support building, said Sheppard.
The completed facility will have five, 40-student classrooms, each with full technology support. It will also include computerized driving simulators, and emergency incident command simulation labs. The apparatus support facility will house fully stocked rescues, engines, and aerial fire apparatus assigned to the training division as well as equipment storage and maintenance areas.
Individual Facilities
The complex will also include the following individual facilities:
· A 4,200 square foot “burn building,” designed to simulate a two-story 4,200 square foot residential structure complete with garage.
· A six-story fire training tower designed with multiple facades, i.e., one-side has a single story residential façade with garage and operational roof ventilation prop; another side is designed to resemble a high-rise apartment complex to simulate window and balcony rescues, plus other facades.
· An LP gas field that will have a variety of liquefied petroleum gas props for training in flammable liquid fires, car fires, and propane emergencies.
· A hazardous materials site designed to accommodate life-size train rail cars and road transportation carriers.
· An extrication area to provide training on various vehicle, truck and bus accident scenarios.
· A driving track for emergency apparatus driver training.
· A 10-acre lake that allows firefighters to perfect water supply operations.
· A “flash over” simulator.
Sheppard said that space is also reserved for confined space rescue props, disaster city, airplane crash simulation, and urban search and rescue simulations.
55 Years.
The new complex is named for PBFR Chief Herman Brice, in fire fighting 55 years.
In 1984, he moved to Palm Beach County and became PBFR’s first Fire Rescue Administrator. Commissioners said Brice was responsible for blending ten separate fire districts into one consolidated fire rescue department. Under his leadership the department has expanded its operations, more than doubling the size of personnel and stations. PBFR is now the third largest fire department in the state of Florida.
With an annual budget in excess of $300 million, PBFR serves 1,813 square miles of Palm Beach County. This includes unincorporated
Palm Beach County and the municipalities of: Belle Glade, Cloud Lake, Glen Ridge, Haverhill, Jupiter, Juno Beach, Lake Clarke Shores, Lake Park, Lantana, LoxahatcheeGroves, Manalapan, Pahokee, Royal Palm Beach, SouthBay, South Palm Beach and Wellington. Also provided are dispatch services for: Jupiter Inlet Colony, Lake Worth, Mangonia Park, North Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Tequesta and West Palm Beach.
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