Crary Hose Company is pleased to announce that our Class A burn building and fire training facility has arrived at our training grounds.
The structure, fabricated by Forge Fire and Company of Bucyrus, Ohio consists of a 40’ high cube container topped by a 20’ container. Features include a Class A burn room
with 2400 degree insulation with an overhead hallway burn prop approaching the room, four sliding windows that allow for Vent, Enter, Search training, A Bravo Force Door
which allows for forcible entry training, an Apex Roof Cut Prop with an 8’ x 8’ work area that simulates roof surfaces at eight different pitches from flat to 16:12 and a hatch to
allow smoke from below to gather below the prop for realistic roof ventilation training, an interior and an exterior staircase fabricated to support firefighting tactical loads, and two
interior walls with fire rated doors creating segmented rooms. The second-floor window also has an anchor for use in bailout training.
The department has been working towards this goal since late 2023 when we applied to the Pennsylvania Office of the State Fire Commissioner’s Training Center Capital Grant
Program and were awarded $100,000 in July of 2024. With this grant in hand, we ordered the burn building with a price of $175,500 and began planning the site preparation.
Site plans included the construction of a 225’ paved driveway, a 100’ x 100’ concrete pad, and chain link fencing around the entire site with entry gates. Total cost of site preparation was an additional $175,000.
We began fund raising in earnest and spent much time drafting emails and giving presentations about our plans to local elected officials and neighboring departments.
The support that we received was overwhelming. Fire departments across Tioga and Potter County donated funds, as well as a neighboring department from Steuben
County NY. The Tioga County Commissioners provided Act 13 funds to cover the remaining cost of the building, and the Potter County Commissioners also made a large
donation. We also received help from many of our surrounding municipalities. Community donations came from local businesses, fraternal organizations, clubs, and
churches, as well as individuals.
Crary Hose conducted several online raffles with 100% of the proceeds going to the project. With the support of our online friends, both from here and away, we raised over $65,000. With everyone’s help, we raised all the necessary funds.
We are extremely proud of the Officers and Members of Crary Hose Company who have dedicated their time and efforts to making this dream a reality. Without the
outstanding support of so many people in state and local government, volunteer fire and ambulance first responders, and interested people from here and abroad, we never would have been able to build this needed training facility.
From every single Officer and Firefighter of Crary Hose Company, we say THANK YOU!!
Author: Todd Streeter