The Orange County Fire Rescue Training Center is a multi-structure campus on 60 acres built for the sole purpose of training Orange County’s firefighters to be safe and successful on the job using the latest technology and modern design. The education building houses an apparatus bay as part of a mock fire station, a complete classroom wing that can double as a 100-person ceremony space, a 7,000 SF fitness center, expansive locker rooms, and an administration wing. The 60-degree gesture of the concrete tilt wall panels are the foundation of construction of the building, inspired by the emblem of the ladder as a symbol of connectivity and safety.
A short walk from the main building, firefighters can train for real-life emergency situations inside a burn building, search and rescue in a drill tower or structural collapse building and live fire scenarios with multiple burn props. Further out on the site sits the CPAT training center and a submerged trench for confined space training. KMF completed all stages of the design of this project, from master plan to weekly construction management. KMF changed the multi-building campus from three construction types, block, steel and PEMB, to all tilt-up, reducing trades on site, shortening the schedule, and reducing the budget from over $70M to just $41M. For sustainability, the entire building is equipped with solar panels and the building, props, bioswale, and retention ponds are strategically placed as to not interrupt the surrounding wetlands on the site.