McALLEN — The South Texas College Board of Trustees last Tuesday approved contract architectural services for its planned $1.5 million fire training structure.
The two-story 3,000 square-foot structure will feature live fire props for training and is intended to be used for instruction on extinguishing fires in residential structures, materials presented to the board said.
The board approved Martinez Architects, the highest ranked firm and the recommendation of the facilities committee, for the $1,581,250 project.
The proposed structure is part of phase two of the college’s masterplan for its Regional Center for Public Safety Excellence in Pharr.
“The demand for highly skilled professionals in law enforcement, fire science and homeland security is increasing rapidly, and South Texas College is poised and ready to meet the demand now,” the college stated in promotional materials for the center.
A sample image for the structure shows a bunker-like block building. Materials from the college said floors and roofs for the structure will be made from exposed concrete, and that floors will be sloped for drainage.
The building will be equipped with propane-fueled live fire props that can be computer controlled by a trainer to generate interior fires that trainees can extinguish.
“A two-story structure will be erected to simulate a typical single family residence,” information from the project’s master plan reads. “The site will contain a fence for a backyard and synthetic grass for a front yard.”
This structure will also have multiple roof systems for various slope training and internal stairs leading to the upper floor area. There will also be a single-story garage annex that connects internally to the structure and the access to the house will be from the street with a typical residential style driveway.
The board approved the structure as part of the college’s 2021-2022 capital improvement projects in June, and the college began soliciting architectural qualifications in November.
A total of 22 firms received a copy of the college’s request for qualifications and five firms submitted responses in December.
