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March 27, 2026 — Airdrie’s long-awaited live-fire training structure is moving into its final phase, but it will still be some time before firefighters can step into the burn room.
The structure, located at the Highland Park Fire Station and Training Centre, is expected to give the Airdrie Fire Department a local, purpose-built place for realistic fire training. The city has gone years without that kind of resource in its own community, so the project has been closely watched by local crews.
Fire Training Solutions, the company behind the specialized live-fire systems, says the building is designed to test more than just basic firefighting skills. Mike Bailey, the company’s owner and managing director, described a facility where instructors can build scenarios that change as crews move through the structure.
“Firefighters aren’t limited to repeatedly attacking one type of fire,” Bailey said. “Instructors will be able to build scenarios that require crews to advance through the structure, encounter changing fire conditions, locate and attack the main fire, conduct searches, communicate with other crews and operate as they would at an actual incident.”
A key feature of the new training center is the hallway/ceiling rollover prop. In simple terms, rollover happens when hot gases build up near the ceiling and ignite. For firefighters, recognizing that condition early can make a major difference in how they attack a fire.
The rollover prop can be placed in a hallway next to the main burn room. That allows instructors to create overhead fire before a crew even reaches the main fire area. The flames can be adjusted so trainees face a changing environment while instructors remain in control.
Beyond the overhead fire, the facility is set up to reproduce kitchen-fire conditions as well as garage and vehicle fire scenarios. There are also full-room evolutions where firefighters can practice entry, hose advancement, fire attack, search, communication, and crew coordination in realistic heat and smoke.
That mix of props is meant to push firefighters to think on their feet. A crew might move through a corridor, deal with fire overhead, search a room, then work together to push into the main fire area.
One of the biggest advantages of the new structure is that it does not rely on traditional combustible materials to create the fire. Instead, controlled gas-fired props will produce the flames. That gives instructors much more flexibility.
If a drill needs to be stopped, the system can be shut down, reset, and run again with another crew. That kind of repeatability is difficult to achieve with conventional live-fire exercises, where conditions can be harder to manage.
Bailey said the real benefit is not in practicing isolated tasks, but in bringing those skills together in an environment that feels real without becoming unpredictable in the wrong way.
“A firefighter can practise individual skills almost anywhere,” he wrote. “The real value of a facility like this is being able to bring those skills together in a realistic, controlled and repeatable environment.”
The training structure uses different fuel sources depending on the location. Interior props will run on natural gas, while exterior props will use liquid propane, or LPG.
Symtech, the systems supplier, provides gas and temperature monitoring, instructor controls, and emergency shutdown functions. That is a critical layer for a facility where crews need realistic conditions on the outside but strict safety controls underneath.
Thermal protection is also built into the designated burn areas. That is intended to protect the structure during repeated live-fire training, so the building itself can hold up to regular, intense use.
For fire departments, that matters. A live-fire facility has to survive not just one drill, but hundreds of them over the years. The thermal protection is part of making the center a long-term training asset rather than a short-term novelty.
The structure is not ready for firefighters yet.
Bailey said the major structural work is substantially complete. That leaves the final integration and finishing work, including installation of the live-fire props and the systems that control them. After that, the facility has to go through testing and commissioning.
“We don’t consider a training system complete simply because the physical installation is finished,” Bailey said. “The systems need to be checked, operated and verified so that they function as intended before they are turned over for firefighter training.”
Commissioning will include checks on the live-fire equipment, fuel systems, burners, controls, emergency shutdown functions, and other safety-related components. The entire system also has to be tested to confirm it works as designed before the Airdrie Fire Department can take ownership of it.
No handover date has been announced yet.
After the facility is handed over, the Airdrie Fire Department will be able to build the structure into its own training programs and procedures. Crews will not need to rely on outside facilities for this kind of work.
That means firefighters can practice advancing hose lines, searching rooms, and working through changing fire conditions without leaving the city. The center is designed to let instructors repeat scenarios, adjust difficulty, and focus on crew coordination under stress.
For Airdrie, this is more than a new building. It is the end of a long gap in local live-fire training capability. When the final checks are done, the structure will give local firefighters a place to train the way they would actually work on the fireground: as crews, under realistic conditions, with overhead flame, heat, smoke, and the pressure to communicate clearly.
Until then, the work is in the details. The gas lines, burners, sensors, emergency shutoffs, thermal barriers, and training props all need to be verified. Only after that process is complete will the Highland Park Training Centre truly be a live-fire training center.
For now, the building is there, the equipment is going in, and the city is one step closer to giving its firefighters a permanent place to train in Airdrie.
