Arapahoe County – The West Metro Fire Protection District has purchased a 10-acre property in Jefferson County with plans to build a new firefighter training center.
The fire district, which covers Lakewood, Morrison and southern Jefferson County, currently trains at a 4-acre site in Arapahoe County it shares with four other metro area fire departments.
West Metro officials say the Metro Fire Training Center, built in stages in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is cramped and outdated, and its size and age present many logistical and training problems.
“We have to work around each other so much sometimes we can’t accomplish our training,” said Keith Schneider, division chief of training for the district. “We try to accommodate everybody, but it sometimes gets over-burdensome.”
Classrooms at the center are too small, and bathroom facilities are inadequate, said West Metro Capt. Tim Matthews. The facility has two toilets and two shower stalls, one each for men and women.
Occasionally, hundreds of firefighters train simultaneously at the facility.
A new center, centrally located within the West Metro District, would result in better trained firefighters and could shave expenses in the long run through more efficient training, less travel and the addition of user fees paid by other departments.
West Metro closed on the $4.75 million land deal in August. The parcel is south of U.S. 285 and west of South Kipling Street.
District officials have been discussing the need for a new training center for years.
Beyond the land’s purchase price, the district would need about $15 million to build the center, which would include a 50-foot, five-story training tower.
The new site also would include a new firehouse, which would replace Firehouse No. 10 at 3301 S. Field St. in Lakewood, according to plans.
West Metro officials hope to present the plan for the property to district voters in May to approve funding.
The Mount Carbon neighborhood, just south of the new site and which has 342 homes, is the only residential area adjoining the property.
“If they think they are going to set fires immediately adjacent to our neighborhood, we are going to do what we can to stop it,” said Dennis Weyl, president of the Mount Carbon Park Estates homeowners association.
Beyond fire, Weyl said, he’s concerned about smoke, increased traffic and the aesthetics of a training facility. Homeowners “will not be excited about seeing fire and smoke,” Weyl said.
West Metro Deputy Chief Don Lombardi said a new center would include computer-controlled gas or propane burners to simulate fire. In an emergency, fire in a new training structure could be shut down with the push of a button and the building cleared of smoke in less than 12 seconds. Training fires at new facilities create much less smoke than older ones because of updated equipment and techniques, Lombardi said.
“We want to be so friendly and be good neighbors to everybody,” Lombardi said. “We’ll want to make it as aesthetically pleasing as possible.”
Staff writer Kieran Nicholson can be reached at 303-820-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
