A training venue for specialist rescue disciplines in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has been completed.
The design team behind the Technical Rescue Training Zone (TRTZ) build project in Cambuslang, Glasgow began work in August 2012 and construction onsite started in May 2013.
The project involves the design, construction and delivery of a training zone which will meet the needs of a range of rescue services including rope rescue, trench rescue, sewer rescue, confined space rescue and urban search and rescue.
The £2.4 million project was completed by the 20th December 2013 and acts as the fourth expansion phase of the training centre’s development. The site was formerly occupied by a coal fired power station which was demolished many years ago. The fire service has been operating the previous phases of the Training Centre since March 2012.
The zone houses numerous new training facilities; one of which covers a single storey and comprises of numerous structures for the delivery of practical training. The venue houses concrete trenches, a sewer complex, wilderness rescue area, an animal rescue pit, silo and confined space training rig. The building also contains showers, storage eating and drying areas.
There is a separate training facility for the urban search and rescue team – USAR – which provides opportunities for tunnelling and shoring training, hot cutting of steel, technical searches, breaking and breaching of concrete and heavy lifting. The facility is able to offer all theses training facilities through its flexible design including the provision of removable stairs, collapsed floors, collapsed roofs, removable safety barriers, tunnel complex and simulated collapses within tunnel sections.
The main contractor, Lagan Construction, had to deliver the build whilst ensuring there was no conflict with the training provided on existing zones of the Training Centre. The firm worked closely with onsite staff and the creation of policies such as a traffic management plan ensured the smooth progression of the project.
Alister Carson from Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said that the designs of the new facilities are impressive. He added:
“There are a myriad of features from sloping window lintels, collapsed floors and roofs, innovative drainage systems to ensure the sewer system will dry out after training is complete, ability to simulate collapses within the USAR rigs safely. The entire zone is bespoke and nothing on its scale or variety of training scenarios exists elsewhere in Scotland.
“Our aim was always to provide a realistic training environment designed to ensure that fire-fighters and partner agencies could carry out training whilst remaining safe. The hub building incorporates features such as solar panels and is built to meet all existing g standards. The academic building which was constructed as part of earlier phases attracted an excellent rating under the BREEAM scheme.
“I would like to say that all members of the design team Gardiner Theobald, HLM, Hulley and Kirkwood and URS along with the main contractor have delivered a unique, fit for purpose facility which can only improve the training available for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and its partner agencies. It has been a pleasure to work closely with so many highly skilled professionals.”
Exterior landscaping and groundwork was undertaken on site including grass seeding around the rigs in the trench and wilderness rescue area. These areas were provided with a rubber matting cover which the grass will go through to prevent erosion, as this section will be subject to heavy usage including plant and personnel. T
he wilderness rescue area has been planted out with three varieties of native trees and large rocks. The main materials used during the construction of the new buildings include concrete, brick and mortar and steel.
