Bowling Green approves state grant and vendor contract to replace live-burn training facility at Station 5

The Bowling Green Board of Commissioners on Feb. 18 approved the acceptance of an amended Kentucky Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Community Project Fund award of $310,022 — increasing a previous award to $560,022 — and later authorized a contract with Forge Fire Company for up to $932,850 to replace the city’s live-burn training facility behind Station 5.

City staff said the current burn building is at the end of its useful life because of fire damage and described the replacement as a modular live-burn structure for realistic firefighter training. "This is replacement of our burn facility, our burn training, live burn facility at Station 5," said a city staff presenter, noting the facility would sit at the public safety training grounds behind Station 5 and be available for volunteer departments to train on without charge.

The board’s action to accept the additional $310,022 in CDBG-CV funding brought the total grant support for the training-unit project to $560,022. City staff said the grant funds would combine with a previously awarded $250,000 and amounts budgeted in the FY25 capital plan to cover the project cost and the Forge Fire Company contract. Commissioners voted unanimously present (four yes, one absent) to approve both the grant acceptance and the vendor contract.

Deputy Chief Doug Morris and battalion chiefs attended and answered technical questions. Morris described the product as a configurable structure that allows live fire, smoke and ventilation training, and emphasized firefighter safety and training realism. Commissioners asked whether volunteer fire departments would be charged to use the facility; Morris said they would not.

Staff also told the board to expect another procurement request at a future meeting for an underwater drone and related equipment that fire staff say will expand rescue and recovery capabilities during water incidents. That later request was described as separate and not part of the Forge Fire contract action.

The approvals are procedural steps: the grant acceptance adds federal CDBG-CV funds to the fire training project budget and the contract awards Forge Fire Company as the vendor to build the new live-burn training structure.