Rapid City Fire Department unveils second fire training facility West River

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - The Rapid City Fire Department announced the opening of its new state-of-the-art training tower with the hopes of training the best firefighters statewide.

The Rapid City Fire Department’s new five-story training tower was unveiled Tuesday. The facility is only the second live fire training tower West River other than Ellsworth Air Force Base and will allow for more complete and efficient training to be done whenever firefighters need it.

“From the day you get on to the job to the day you get off training is imperative. It’s our number one thing that we do on a day-to-day basis is train. Not just sitting around a computer learning things from others but being able to train each other and hone our skills both physically and mentally at this tower are going to be a game changer,” Rapid City firefighter Nick Knotek said.

The tower is made out of heavy gauge metal which is meant to withstand high heat. The first and second floors can be lit on fire and have moving walls which allow firefighters to react to different layouts and scenarios they could see during fires. The third floor is a search simulation floor while the final two floors will be used to train for entering houses by breaking roofs or rappelling through windows. All of this is to train the best firefighters possible.

“The more training we can get and the more realistic training we can get the better the firefighters are going to be. We have the top-notch firefighters in the state of South Dakota located here in Rapid City, I can’t say enough about them. This facility is just going to allow us to take it to the next level,” Division Chief of Fire Operations Brian Povandra said.

Povandra said this facility will also be available to any other fire stations who want to experience this type of training to best prepare cities across the Black Hills.

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