Heat’s Always On at Firefighter Training Site

The fire was deliberately set.

Bright flames and black smoke rose high into the air above a propane-gas storage tank that was dangerously close to dry brushland and trees. It looked like a potential disaster.

Firefighters in protective suits and headgear cautiously approached the extremely hot blaze. In a matter of minutes, using special equipment, they extinguished the fire as a supervisor yelled instructions.

Elsewhere, the propane fire could easily have gotten out of control and caused untold property damage and serious injuries. But here at the Del Valle Fire Training Facility, operated by the Los Angeles County Fire Department in Val Verde, it was relatively safe. With the turn of a valve, the propane-gas supply fueling the fire could have been shut off.

Only Such Facility in Southland

The firefighters at the scene--in this case from the Orange County Fire Department--were among hundreds from throughout Southern California who come to Del Valle for training and refresher courses in methods of extinguishing fires involving flammable liquids. It is the only facility of its type in Southern California.

In addition to the fire agencies, major oil companies, private industry and community college fire-training programs also send personnel to the facility, county Fire Capt. Dirk McClellan said.

With oil pits and tanks, underground gas lines and loading platforms on the site, almost any type of flammable-liquid fire that firefighters might encounter can be simulated, he said.

“They’re pretty close to the real thing,” McClellan said.

He said the facility is used an average of three times a week with about 40 people participating in each daylong session.

The Del Valle site is located on 1.55 acres of isolated land on Chiquito Canyon Road in Val Verde, four miles west of the Golden State Freeway and a mile north of California 126. The county has leased the site since 1959.

Threatened by Development

On Dec. 16, the county Board of Supervisors voted to purchase the 1.55 acres along with about 158 surrounding acres for $351,692 to prevent its owner, Century Production, from selling the land for development.

It would take about $1 million to replace the facility, McClellan said.

County Fire Chief John W. Englund told supervisors that the current small site severely restricts the Fire Department’s ability to upgrade training props and expand the facility to include training in the handling of hazardous chemicals.

Eventually the site will be upgraded to include classrooms and props to simulate a wider variety of firefighting situations. Englund said negotiations are under way for the possible establishment of a nonprofit corporation to assist in the facility’s development.