Training Tower to Take Fire Science Students to New Levels of Preparation

During the Board’s monthly meeting held Nov. 10, the group approved a recommendation to install a training tower to the cost of more than $170,000. The tower is scheduled to be operational by the mid-point of spring semester.

“The proposed training facility, along with the residency program, will make Butler’s the premier program in the state,” said Mills. “In addition, students in our Criminal Justice and our Early College Public Safety programs can also utilize the facility for training.”

Butler has discussed the need for a training tower for several years. The ability to make it happen is credited to the collaborative efforts of several entities. The City of El Dorado has agreed to provide all of the site preparation work, an estimated $100,000, in return for the City of El Dorado Fire Department use of the facility. HollyFrontier has pledged $10,000 toward the Training Facility. Other Butler County entities are also considering donations with the potential for other firefighting agencies gaining training access, thereby making this project an impactful community endeavor. Remaining costs will be covered by a student fee account, which the Fire Science program will then repay over a period of time.

According to Anita Mills, Dean of Nursing, Allied Health and Early Childhood at Butler, the absence of a fire training tower left students with limited training opportunities to practice actual structural-type scenarios. The new facility will be built behind Fire Station No. 2 in El Dorado, which is home to Butler’s Fire Science program, which offers a residency program at the station.

El Dorado Fire Chief Steve Moody and Captain Troy Jellison were also on hand to publicly offer their support of the new training facility.

“This is going to be an amazing facility,” said Jellison, who is also lead adjunct instructor for Butler’s Fire Science residency program. “It will meet most all the needs for every class we offer. We’ll be able to walk right out the back door and get right to the training.”

This facility will offer consistent and year-round training opportunities. “We previously had to utilize houses that were being torn down. Unfortunately these weren’t always available,” said Chief Moody. “In addition to better training, the facility will also give us credit toward a better insurance rating.”