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TESTIMONIALS

Contact us today and we will provide references from customers who have purchased the Mobile Training Tower.

  • Apopka Fire Department       Apopka, FL

  • Branson Fire & Rescue       Branson, MO

  • Rodeo-Hercules Fire District Hercules, CA

  • Oklahoma State University               Stillwater, OK

  • City of Republic Fire Department Republic, MO

  • Alabama Fire College        Tuscaloosa, AL 

  • Kentucky Community and  Technical College System                  Kentucky State Fire Rescue    National Responder Preparedness Center                                  Greenville, KY                                    1-4 Story MTT, 2-3 Story MTT's 

  • Canton Township Fire Department Canton, OH

  • Palm Beach Fire-Rescue                 Palm Beach, FL

  • Moraga-Orinda Fire District     Orinda, CA   

  • DeKalb Fire Department        DeKalb, IL

  • State of Tennessee Fire Marshal's Office 3-Story Gooseneck 

  • New York Homeland Security & Emergency Services        Guilderland, NY  

  • Virginia Department of Fire Programs                                      Glen Allen, VA

  • Lake Tahoe Community College, South Lake Tahoe, CA

  • Beaver County Fire Department Beaver, UT

  • Cloquet Area Fire District Scanlon, MN

  • Bates Technical College       Tacoma, WA

  • Brevard County Fire Rescue       Rockledge, FL

  • University of Kansas                 Kansas Fire & Training Institute Lawrence, KS

  • College of Eastern Idaho             Idaho Falls, ID                               3 Story Gooseneck

  • Arcata Fire District                    McKinleyville, CA

  • New Jersey State Police              North Manasquan, NJ                  4 Story MTT

Read some comments from these first response professionals about the Mobile Training Tower.

 

​DeKalb Fire Department to buy special mobile tower for high-rise fire rescue training

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 The DeKalb Fire Department secured a $239,000 federal grant to buy a special mobile tower that will give firefighters a feel for fighting a blaze in high-rise buildings.

The city of DeKalb provided a $21,727 match.

Having the mobile tower gives the fire department permanent training equipment, as well as a tool to learn how to fight fires in taller structures. Officials said the DeKalb area has some 30 buildings that would be considered high-rise.

“We have now a training facility that will allow the firefighters to train whenever they want. It allows them maximum flexibility so they can ... do their own specialized training as a company. They can identify and perceived weaknesses and they can go ahead and they can strengthen those weaknesses,” said Jeff McMaster, DeKalb deputy fire chief.

The money for the mobile tower came from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant. The annually awarded grants are “for critically needed resources to equip and train emergency personnel to recognized standards, enhance operations efficiencies, foster interoperability, and support community resilience,” according to FEMA.

DeKalb’s fire department had, for at least the last two years, unsuccessfully applied for money through the program to get an additional ladder fire truck. McMaster said in 2014, the decision was made to go for the mobile training tower instead.

“The fire department severely lacks training facilities,” McMaster said. “In fact, there is no training facilities in DeKalb County.”

Historically, the fire department has relied on donations of houses and other structure that were to eventually be demolished to use in training firefighters. Fire personnel used the structures for drills on fire extinguishing, search and rescue, and other common fire emergency scenarios, McMaster explained.

Although the home donations are unpredictable and sometimes sporadic, he said, even with now having the mobile tower, the homes are still needed.

“The houses are valuable,” said McMaster. [The mobile tower] is in addition to. This definitely does not replace our need for donated homes.”

The mobile tower is about the height of a four-story building. It is equipped with a four-landing staircase, six windows, a smoke machine, standpipe and sprinkler systems and a confined space simulator, among other critical training features.

McMaster said the tower is currently housed at the DeKalb Municipal Airport, but can be dropped off at any of the department’s three stations to conduct training drills. Firefighters have not begun training in the mobile tower yet, but the deputy chief said they will start in the coming weeks. DFD is looking for a permanent storage space for the tower, especially since it has to be stored indoors during the winter months. 

DeKalb fire officials plan to allow other fire departments in the county to use the tower for training.

“Right now, DeKalb (county) fire departments, even though we work very well together, we don’t train together. This is really going to help us to strengthen that bond,” McMaster said.

McMaster said the collaboration makes the mobile tower even more valuable to the community, and it means more residents and area businesses could benefit.

Rhonda Gillespie, Daily Chronicle, DeKalb IL

​Kevin Schroeder, Fire Chief

​Cloquet Area Fire District. Cloquet, MN

We have used the MTT to practice firefighter bailouts, high-angle rescues, ground & aerial ladder operations, hose line deployment & advancement, and victim removal. The MTT is an extremely versatile unit; we have yet to find things that it won’t do. It has become a critical component in our training division’s delivery of basic and advanced fire and rescue training to both rookie and veteran firefighters.  A complete training academy on wheels.

James Weber, Palm Beach Fire-Rescue Spokesman

Palm Beach Fire-Rescue. Palm Beach, FL

When asked about the Mobile Training Tower by The Palm Beach Daily News. Mr. Weber replied, "Training officers can tailor its use in response to assessed needs within the department. Each crew can work on its strengths and weaknesses. It's simply the Swiss Army Knife of Props!" 

 



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​Jerry Lee, Battalion Chief

Moraga-Orinda Fire District. Orinda, CA

​“Firefighter training is the keystone for success in ensuring our talented members maintain a high-level of proficiency.  For that reason, the members of MOFD log over 37,000 hours of training annually. The MTT is an invaluable tool for our firefighters to sharpen the many skills demanded of them.”

Mike Novak, Battalion Chief

Branson Fire & Rescue. Branson, MO

"All of our personnel have used the MTT. From our annual physical abilities test, to new-hire testing the MTT has given us the flexibility to perform real world scenarios in a variety of settings. We have utilized the MTT for training with our personal escape system that each fireman stores in their bunker pants. Allowing them to practice escapes from upper levels during a simulated hostile environment. We have also used it for training on removing non-ambulatory persons from a stairwell setting. Because of this unit, we now have upper windows to do ladder training as well as high angle rappelling off the top tower deck.

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​Robert W. Collins, Assistant Fire Chief (Retired)

Apopka Fire Department. Apopka, FL

   "This training tower can be at one fire station, taken down, moved and set back up at another fire station in minimal time. This towers biggest advantages, over other training tools, are its mobility and versatility. The fire-related training we get with this unit is only limited to our imaginations. For hose evolutions, we can set up many scenarios using the equipped standpipes. We can have our crews advance hose up the stairwell, attach to a standpipe and proceed to the next floor and flow water. We get great teamwork training on advancing lines in stairs. We could add a search to the scenario, a high-rise rescue, etc.  The tower is equipped with a dry-pipe sprinkler system, so we could have the crew apply sprinkler tongs on a flowing sprinkler head. The tower is also equipped with a residential gas meter and electrical service. Our crews can secure the utilities during any or all evolutions just to get into the habit."
​   "We also use the tower for high-angle rescue, placing ground ladders, search and rescue, horizontal ventilation, rope rescue, RIT response and responsibilities, and as many scenarios as we could imagine applied to those areas. To make things even more life like for any inside scenario, the supplied diesel generator powers a smoke machine that is capable of sending smoke to all floors or any particular floor. The generator also powers the hydraulics that raise and lowers the tower, as well as the lights inside and out." 

   "Every year our personnel are tested on their ability to perform some fire ground related tasks that may be called upon to do at any time. This is similar to the Firefighter Challenge. They perform tasks in, around and on the tower in a timed event. We can also accomplish Engineer/Driver training with the tower. During any scenario, the engineers get training on pumping elevated attack lines as well pumping standpipes and sprinklers. But, one of the most important lessons learned on every evolution is the positioning of the pumper. We can accomplish this on every scenario. The 1200 gallon belly tank is fitted with a "dry hydrant" connection to allow our pump operators get drafting training. We have also done this by dropping the hard suction hose over the edge of the tank. This is training you can't get everywhere. Truly invaluable!."

Wayne Caldwell, Fire Chief, Executive Dean of Instruction (Retired)

Bates Technical College. Tacoma, WA

"We had previously been in a partnership with a local fire district in the construction and use of a permanent drill tower some miles from our south Tacoma location.  As the fire district grew, scheduling tower use became more and more difficult, so we began to look at alternatives.  Building our own on-campus tower was going to be extremely expensive as well as limiting due to codes and permitting issues.  A permanent structure was also going to cut down on our already small drill ground footprint.  None of our many proposals included the possibility of a mobile prop even though we already have several in our fleet.  When I researched that possibility two years ago, I found Riverside’s website and the answer to our needs. As a college-based training institution, all of our equipment is used heavily on a daily basis, so our MTT has gotten a workout (weather permitting) in the short time we’ve had it.  Sixty to seventy college students and up to thirty fire recruits may be using the tower on any given day.  The fact that the tower is mobile allows us to customize its location on our drill grounds, changing the layout of training evolutions giving each one a “new” look.  When you combine it with some of our other props; a confined space tanker trainer, flashover trainers, SCBA challenge trainer, and a multitude of grounded fire and ventilation props, our drill grounds truly becomes a “one-stop shop” for firefighter training.  The thoughtful design and high quality of construction of our MTT have us believing that it is going to be the keystone of our training for many years to come."

 

 

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