FIREFIGHTERS were put through paces at their new state-of-art training centre today (Thursday, September 3).

The 4.5acre site in Bowburn, near Durham City, has modernised training provision in one location.

Its £8m facilities include training rig to demonstrate how flashover and backdraught conditions are created.

They also have a four-storey drill tower, a stretch of road with roundabouts and junctions to simulate car crashes, animal rescue trenches, a drill ground, breathing apparatus teaching area, auditorium for lectures and presentations, gym and more.

The Northern Echo: FIRE: Fire Fighters during a demonstration at the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service’s new training centre on Bowburn Industrial Estate picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (37468465)
FIRE: Fire Fighters during a demonstration at the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service’s new training centre on Bowburn Industrial Estate. Pictures: SARAH CALDECOTT

The Northern Echo: FIRE: Acting Chief Fire Officer Stuart Errington at the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service’s new training centre on Bowburn Industrial Estate picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (37468379)
FIRE: Acting Chief Fire Officer Stuart Errington at the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service’s new training centre on Bowburn Industrial Estate

Assistant chief fire officer Stuart Errington said: “These facilities brings our training up to world-class standard and will be an investment for the next 50 years in County Durham and Darlington.

“The ability to have realistic live fire training is so important.

“We need to have challenging scenarios to make sure that our firefighters can operate effectively but also safely in some fairly hostile environments.”

He added: “For the last few years we have been doing hot fire training at the Durham Tees Valley Airport because it is difficult to get permission to burn.

“The system we have invested in has smoke extraction system, so we should be able to burn 24/7 with no environmental impact at all.”

Mr Errington said the centre, which opened over a fortnight ago, would bring all of the service's training in-house and cut travel time across the service reducing costs.

He said: “Income generation is also possible through our arrangements with other organisations and businesses keen to use the facilities for their own training and courses.”

There are also incident command training facilities, which will also be used by Durham Police.

The centre has been built in a way that expansion and changes to configuration wojuld be possible should training facilities and requirements develop over the years.