Clark County is embarking on an ambitious plan to construct a new fire station and a state-of-the-art training facility for its firefighters.
The station and training complex will replace the Clark County Fire Department’s existing training facility at 4425 W. Tropicana Ave., at Arville Street, near The Orleans. The county’s current training facility was constructed in 1983.
“I think people recognize the need for it with how Clark County has grown,” said Sean Collins, a deputy chief who oversees training for the Fire Department.
The project will cover a 6.26-acre site and will feature a new 8,400-square-foot fire station less than 3 miles from the Las Vegas Strip. It will include a modern two-story training center with the latest technology, a premanufactured burn tower and a large maintenance building to service county fire trucks, engines and other rescue vehicles. Plans also call for the construction of a multistory parking garage.
The county said in a press release a contract for construction services calls for The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company to demolish existing structures and build new ones on the 6.26 acre site. The cost of the project is $93 million with an estimated completion date of 2028.
The county broke ground on the project May 18. Future expansion will be possible.
The training facility will be used primarily to train county firefighters and personnel. Other first responders from across Southern Nevada will participate in training exercises there and benefit, officials said. In this regard, the idea mimics the Metropolitan Police Department’s sprawling training complex on the northeast edge of the valley, where law enforcement from across the region receive training using the latest technology.
The price tag on that project was placed at $35 million in 2022.
Clark County Commission Chair Michael Naft acknowledged the project has a high price tag as prices for construction projects have risen both here and elsewhere in recent years. He said it is a long-term investment in public safety that benefits both residents and tourists. Naft said the county has been considering the project since 2019, with the county budgeting capital dollars for it for several years.
“You can’t just say public safety is a priority without investing dollars into public safety,” Naft said.
Naft added the new facility will reap additional rewards as it represents a significant investment in the corridor along Tropicana Avenue. For example, detached sidewalks and related infrastructure installed as part of the project will make the area surrounding the center much more pedestrian-friendly, he said.
Collins said the existing infrastructure at the West Tropicana Avenue address is aged. The new burn tower will be larger and offer training on both Class A fires, which are typical house fires involving wood and other combustibles, as well as Class B gas fires. The training facility building will have lots of classroom and administrative office space and will be “a much larger facility able to hold more people,” Collins said.
“We will be able to bring in outside agencies so we can do more training throughout the community and involve more partners with us on site,” Collins said. “It has added technology features, added EMS features, more realistic patient care scenarios and training that we can put all of our personnel through.”
Contact Glenn Puit at
gpuit@reviewjournal.com.
