Page 115 - THE FIRE STATION

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THE TRAINING TOWER
Ghislain André and Denis Mélotte
FORM AND FUNCTION
In any fire station, the training tower always stands out, a land-
mark in its surroundings. But it is also a work tool that has to
meet very pragmatic requirements.
The draft design submitted for the competition foresaw a slender
metal structure with a simple inside spiral staircase. However, the
training exercises performed in the tower vary greatly, simulating
many different situations: a terrace, an overhanging balcony, a roof
window, a caged ladder, etc.The fire brigade engineers in charge
of the project specified their expectations in very constructive
design and build meetings.
As with all modifications put forward by the firemen, instructions
were precise and well-documented. In this case, they took the form
of three drawings.The ideas from all three were merged into the
final design, while at the same time respecting the budget ear-
marked for the tower.
In the final product, the tower’s lower part is shaped like a small
two-storey “house” (inside dimensions: 3.00 x 3.00 metres), cov-
ered by a sloping roof incorporating a roof window. It is made of
prefabricated concrete sections, with openings at various places.
A freestanding square metal tower (each side: 3 metres) is
superimposed on the “house”, with its top landing 25 metres
above ground.
The concrete wall making up the west face of the “house” contin-
ues right up to the top of the tower, offering members of the fire-
men’s GRIMP team (specialists for dangerous missions) a wall for
practising descents.This wall has no load-bearing function (apart
from its own weight), and is fastened to the metal tower.
The metal staircase winds up the structure, linking up the various
training sites. Surrounding the “house”, the staircase goes up its
outside walls before snaking up the outside of the metal structure,
giving access to several windows and balconies, and to a small
terrace. It provides access to the uppermost platform with a set
of traps whose covers constitute railings when raised.
From the top of the building, “death rides” (or ziplines) can be in-
stalled, enabling firemen to ride down to the vehicle manoeuvring
area.The zipline ground anchors are to be found under manhole
covers, at an angle of 35° to the west and 45° to the south.
The training tower is linked by a tunnel to the main north-south
corridor intersecting the building’s basement.
A zipline’s ground anchor and off he goes! Philippe Samyn taking a “death ride”