Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company will soon have a new training facility: A building in which firefighters can practice in smoky, hot conditions.

CRANBERRY TWP — The Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company has a number of assets, varying from vehicles and volunteers to a well-equipped public safety training area.

Those tools allow them to train on a number of tasks. But to perform one type of key training exercise, the company had to drive 40 minutes.

Now, however, the company has invested in a three-story facility that will allow its volunteers to simulate attacking a structure fire in as realistic conditions as possible without driving more than a half-hour away.

“We wanted to be able to train on operations right in our backyard,” township chief of fire and emergency services Scott Garing said. “We have the ability to emulate operations, but we don't have the ability for firefighters to practice it when it's hot, it's smoky, to be able to get what we refer to as sets and reps: Doing it multiple times over and over again, of the standard of hitting a hydrant and throwing a hose line and staging ladders.”

With a $450,000 initial investment, the fire company now will have a three-story facility made of metal containers, outfitted and formed together to create an asset for the department. It's a hefty investment, Garing admitted, but it's worthwhile, and the culmination of years of careful savings.

“The only reason that we are able to afford this is because of what the members prior to us in the CTVFC did with their finances,” he said. “Those senior members invested their money smartly to put us a situation where we'd have the funds to afford something like this, and we're very appreciative of that.”

It will allow the department to train “all kinds of different levels of operations, from burning it to forcible entry inside the building, to cutting garage doors, to management of hose lines on stairs and other” obstacles, Garing said.

The structure, which will be erected at the public safety training facility, is an exciting development for the department, Garing said, because there “won't be any form of operations” volunteers can't simulate at the future building.

Garing said it's a strong asset for another reason: Fighting fires is an integral and dangerous, but relatively rare — part of a firefighter's job.

“It'll truly help our firefighters be better at what they do,” he said. “We don't go to fires a whole lot anymore; with the development of modern fire codes, that's one of the least frequent things that we do, so we needed to be able to figure out a way to train on those skills.”

Additionally, the building will be open to nearby fire companies, as the department understands the struggle of traveling a long distance to train at such a facility. Neighboring departments will be responsible for the costs of materials they use and the maintenance of the building related to their exercises, but there will be no additional cost, the chief said.

“We want them to be able to utilize it,” he said.