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Marion near completion of public safety training center; council to consider naming tower 'Devault'
Summary
City staff updated council on the near-complete Marion public safety training center, described two separate training structures (a four‑story tower and a live‑burn building), and recommended naming the tower the Devault Tower in recognition of a decades‑old donor gift; a public hearing and 30‑day review are scheduled for April 23.
City staff told the Marion City Council on March 17 that the new public safety training center, sited on the public works property off 44th Street, is nearing completion and will include two separate structures: a four‑story training tower for technical drills and a two‑story live burn building to isolate combustion contaminants.
Staff and Chief McBurnney described the training tower as a multi‑evolution facility with theatrical smoke distribution and modular interior walls to support hose movement, search and rescue, smoke ventilation and forcible entry. Chief McBurnney said the city has already used the tower for rope‑rescue training, hose testing, ladder operations and plans confined‑space and multi‑agency scenarios in the coming months.
The live burn structure, staff said, is designed for controlled live‑fire evolutions using repeatable fuel packages (oriented OSB, pallets and cut wood) that staff described as calibrated to household‑furniture equivalents so instructors can control smoke and learning outcomes. The city said separating live burn operations from the training tower reduces long‑term contaminant exposure and allows wider partner use of the tower without contamination concerns. Staff said gear decontamination protocols will be followed after live burn exercises.
City staff recommended naming the training tower the Devault Tower to honor Don and Mary Ruth Devault, who donated $900,000 to the Marion Firefighters Association (the association invested the gift and grew it to an estimated $1.3 million) and whose gift helped seed the capital project; staff noted the city’s naming policy criteria and scheduled a 30‑day review and public hearing on April 23. The council did not take final action during the work session.
Staff said the capital project is included in the FY24 capital improvement plan and that a final bid package (including electrical to power the theatrical smoke machine and site lighting) will be returned to council for approval; construction of remaining items will proceed after award and will be followed by a ribbon cutting. Staff emphasized regional training value and said Marion is relatively unique in eastern Iowa for having separate "clean" and "dirty" training structures.
Council members asked whether the facilities would be available for police tactical training; staff said the modular tower could support SRT training while live‑burn evolutions require specialized certification and protective equipment. Staff also said the city is working on a fee schedule for outside agencies doing live‑burn training so Marion does not incur net costs; fees are expected to cover staff overtime and supplies. The city will communicate planned burns to the public and said smoke from controlled burns is lighter and disperses quickly from the site.
No vote occurred at the work session; staff will bring naming-related materials back for the public review process and return bid packages to the council for contract award decisions.
