Pittsylvania commission endorses modular container training facilities, asks supervisors for code exemption

The Pittsylvania County Fire and Rescue Commission voted Thursday to ask the Board of Supervisors to adopt an ordinance treating modular, container-based training structures as temporary mobile training facilities and to exempt those units from certain local building-code requirements.

Chiefs and training officers told the commission the containers would allow realistic, reusable scenario-based drills without damaging station interiors or depending on short-term "acquired" structures slated for demolition. Chief Fowler and others outlined locations and training capabilities and said departments and donors would supply the project’s funding; they said they were not asking the county for operational funds.

Commissioners heard that the containerized facilities would be built from intermodal shipping containers fitted with movable walls and props to simulate forcible entry, search-and-rescue, hose advancement, vertical ventilation and other scenarios. Officials said the structures would be used for SCBA confidence drills with theatrical smoke, confined-space and basement-fire simulations, high-point and tripod rescues and technical-rescue training. The presenters said those features would let firefighters practice search and rescue, rapid intervention and entanglement/Mayday drills in a reusable space rather than in volunteer stations or short-term acquired buildings.

Chief Fowler said the county currently relies on a mix of locally run, in-station training and occasional access to outside training structures in Danville and Lynchburg, which require apparatus and crews to travel out of their primary coverage areas for extended periods. That limits availability for emergency calls, he said.

The presenters said two sites are planned initially: a north-county location adjacent to Climax Fire Department (a joint Climax/Gruntland arrangement) and a south-county site near Blairs Fire Department; both would be shared countywide by request. A local crane company donated lift services for placement, the presenters said.

Fowler said the facilities are intended to be non–live-fire (theatrical smoke only), mobile (stackable and relocatable) and multiuse, and that container facilities already are in use in neighboring localities. He noted that ISO (Insurance Services Office) scoring includes training facilities and that an approved training site can improve ISO points for the county’s fire rating.

After the presentation, Commissioner Allen Casper moved that the commission request the Board of Supervisors "to adopt an ordinance specifying these containers as temporary mobile facilities for the purpose of training fire personnel to be exempt from the local building codes;" the motion was seconded and approved by roll call.

The commission and presenters emphasized that departments would pay construction and siting costs and that donations and shared ownership would support the project. Several commissioners asked about crane costs, flooring and whether the units would remain installed; presenters said crane placement was donated and the containers would be sited in place but could be disassembled and moved if needed.

Commissioners indicated the endorsement would be sent through the association and county channels to the Board of Supervisors for formal consideration.

The commission did not adopt specific code-text language; the motion asked only for the Board of Supervisors to adopt an ordinance recognizing the containers as temporary mobile training facilities and exempting them from the code requirements that make such temporary training use impracticable, as described at the meeting.