City Brass Celebrates Construction of New 'Burn Building'

Thursday, Dakota County notables inaugurated a new $2 million building in northern Burnsville—a building that will be promptly and very intentionally set aflame. As it happens, the structure on River Ridge Boulevard will be torched approximately 2,635 times before all is said and done.

So it goes for the new burn building recently completed by the cities of Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan and Lakeville, which will be baptized in fire about 85 times a year, said Apple Valley Fire Chief Nealon P. Thompson. Inside four-story structure, firefighters will train in the arts of forced entry, fire suppression, search and rescue, high rise evolutions, ladder rescues, and rooftop operations. Officials celebrated with a ribbon cutting and tours of the barren, concrete structure, which can withstand temperatures up to 1,200 degrees Farenheit.

The building has been in the works since June 2012, when it became apparent that the old burn building would need a replacement after 25 years of scorching heat and abuse. The new burn building is 5,200 square feet, four times the size of its predecessor, and it mimics the design of a variety of buildings. One entrance is like that of a split level home, another part of the structure mimics an attic garret. The building has both a pitched roof and commercial-style flat roof.

"The building truly represents more closely the buildings that are being built in Apple Valley today. We fight fires in single family homes, but we also fight fires in townhouse and apartment complexes and commercial structures," Thompson said. "And that is what the new building represents: It allows us to train more closely to what our community is made of."

Thanks to some structural quirks, firefighters could only ignite one room in the old burn building. In their new digs, crews from Apple Valley and Eagan can light up all rooms on all four floors—which include a mock up kitchen, bedroom, and walk-in closet. 

"Not only does our footprint get bigger, we're also able to set our fires in different locations so the training doesn't become mundane to the firefighters," Thompson said.

Training is critical to maintaining the force. Thompson said each firefighter must go through about six months of training, 240 hours, before they're allowed to go on a single call.