The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Public info session this week
By Mark Reaman
Construction of a third building is expected to begin this summer at the Crested Butte Fire Protection District (CBFPD) campus, located just north of town near the cemetery. A training building will be located just off the parking area on the northern portion of the fire station site. According to CBFPD CEO Sean Caffrey, there is a Lacy excavator parked in the approximate location now. He said the building will be mostly visible when driving southbound on Gothic Road.
“The building is a pre-engineered metal building specifically designed for fire and rescue training activities,” Caffrey explained. “It has two interior burn rooms as well as a variety of other elements to facilitate ongoing firefighter skills training such as ladders, roof operations and rescue procedures.”
Construction will start on the 49-foot-long, 22-foot-wide, and 30-foot-tall building this June with completion expected in late October. The cost is estimated to be approximately $1.2 million.
Caffrey said people should not expect to see regular flames and plumes of smoke during training sessions but there will be times it will be noticeable. “The lower burn room is for Class A (ordinary combustibles) burn training. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards require we only use natural materials and wood products. This means the training fires will be started with straw and will burn untreated wood, usually one to three shipping pallets. We will probably only use that room a few times per year as there is a lot of complexity and extended cleanup with class A fires,” he said. “We will mostly use the propane-fired class B (liquid fuel) burn room on the second floor. The propane burn props are not very different from a gas grill in terms of operation and must be used with the artificial smoke machine to create a realistic training environment. Since there is far less complexity and instant on/off capability, and no need to spend a day or so washing protective gear we can use the propane burn props much more often.
“The building will not produce any more smoke than a large campfire and the artificial smoke is non-toxic like you would see in a theater,” Caffrey continued. “The biggest impact will probably be firefighters clanking around a metal building with gear, tools, hose and ladders from time to time.”
A public meeting on the building will be held on Thursday, May 29 at 4 p.m. at the Mt. Crested Butte fire station located at 751 Gothic Road. You can attend in person or on Zoom. Caffrey said the meeting will be recorded and a link will be uploaded to the district’s website at CBFPD.org.
