New Firefighter Training Facilities put action at the Centre of the Learning Journey
With non-fire incidents now overtaking the number of fires attended by emergency response crews, the scope of challenges facing firefighters has expanded dramatically. Chris Gilbert, Associate Director of Architecture for multi-disciplinary consultancy Pick Everard, explores how these changes have rewritten the rules when it comes to designing training facilities.
Fire and rescue services across the UK are known for their strong support networks and dedication to protecting the public and each other while working under the most demanding conditions.
But how do crews prepare for the wide range of new risks that are present today? The effects of climate change, emerging technologies and new building standards have all affected the type of call-outs being attended.
Training has moved on dramatically from replicating building fires. Instead crews must be equipped with the skills, technology and support to tackle everything from flooding to wildfires.
So if there is one area of professional development where firefighters can expect to be truly pushed out of their comfort zones, it’s at the incident training ground.
Moving beyond traditional burn buildings
To ensure crews can respond effectively, modern training facilities must deliver flexible, realistic, and safe environments that prepare firefighters for situations they may never have encountered before.
For decades, firefighter training was centred around fixed-location facilities, often using class-A burn materials or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). These provided a controlled way of simulating fire but they came with limitations. Today’s incidents are rarely predictable, and crews need to adapt quickly to rapidly changing conditions.
This has led to a move towards training centres that replicate advanced scenarios, including fires involving high-rise buildings and electrical faults, two of the most pressing risks for UK fire and rescue services. By recreating environments where conditions can change in real time, these facilities give firefighters the chance to test decision-making, technical skills, and teamwork under pressure.
Statistics released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government last month, show that fire and rescue services (FRSs) attended 628,764 incidents in the year ending June 2025, an increase of 5.7% compared with the previous year (594,836).
Of these incidents, there were 165,697 fires, which was an increase of 28% compared with the previous year (129,638). Of all incidents attended by FRSs, fires accounted for 26%, fire false alarms 40% and non-fire incidents 34%. Ten years ago, just 25% of callouts were to non-fire incidents.
In a separate break-down of fire incidents, figures for the year ending March 2025 showed crews attended 390.4 fires per day, of which 228.8 per day (59%) were outdoor fires. This daily rate was a 2.8% increase when compared with the previous year, which had an average of 379.7 fires per day, of which 216.6 fires per day (57%) were outdoor fires.
The large number of outdoor fires was influenced by a hot, dry spring, while cooking appliances accounted for the largest proportion of accidental fires in the home. This was followed by smoking materials and electrical distribution.
Designing for flexibility
Taking into account the range of call-outs and changing frequencies of fires, flexibility is now a defining characteristic of modern fire training facilities. Instead of being static, these spaces are designed to be reconfigurable and adaptable. Depending on geography and local risk profiles, different scenarios can be prioritised.
In port towns, facilities may simulate shipboard fires with portholes built into the structure. Elsewhere, training might focus on aircraft layouts or rural incidents such as agricultural and woodland fires. This adaptability ensures that training remains relevant to the most likely challenges in each area.
Another driver of change in recent years has been the rise of new fire risks. Lithium-ion battery fires from e-bikes and e-scooters, for example, are a growing concern. London Fire Brigade recorded 165 such fires in the first nine months of this year, with the figure on course to hit record levels.
The majority of fires related to e-bikes and e-scooters have happened in homes, often when charging batteries in communal areas or escape routes, blocking evacuation paths. These incidents are unpredictable and dangerous, requiring specialist response strategies. Causes have been linked to poorly built, fake or damaged batteries as well as the failure of chargers and e-bike conversion kits that have been bought online, adding an extra ‘unknown’ to the fire risk presented by e-bikes.
Road traffic collisions are also placing greater demands on firefighters. A new training facility in development in Essex incorporates an area for RTC and heavy rescue operation, allowing crews to practise extrication techniques in realistic highway conditions.
Expanding facilities in this way ensures that training covers the full spectrum of emergencies faced by today’s fire and rescue services.
Safer, cleaner training environments
Training environments place enormous demands on both firefighters and instructors. Temperatures in controlled burns can reach up to 600°C, with multiple sessions often delivered each day.
Designing facilities that can withstand such heavy use while remaining safe and effective is a significant architectural and engineering challenge.
Occupational health also plays a vital role in facility design. Carcinogen exposure remains a concern, so modern centres often incorporate advanced smoke filtration systems to reduce risks.
In Reigate, Surrey, training facility upgrades at Wray Park will result in an improvement in air quality for residents as well as firefighters. This comes after monitors highlighted that the location of existing training facilities meant smoke was being released into residential areas, prompting a relocation of demo and attack boxes, where crews observe fire behaviour and learn how to use equipment.
Cleaner training exercises using non-toxic methods, a ‘cosmetic’ smoke, are increasingly being adopted. These provide flexible, lower-cost opportunities for skill development without environmental or health impacts, though they work best when combined with live fire training to maintain realism.
Search and rescue is another area of training that can be enhanced through more realistic simulation facilities. Designers are developing practical ways to recreate high-rise residential settings that remain affordable and meet planning rules.
Often these training facilities are designed with multiple access routes and corridors that can be blocked off or reconfigured to create new layout arrangements for each individual training exercise. Not only does this support the development of more sustainable and versatile training facilities for new recruits, but these facilities also provide challenging and diverse refresher training opportunities for seasoned firefighters.
A living classroom
Modern fire training facilities focus on replicating live incidents, they build confidence, adaptability, and resilience, preparing firefighters for the unexpected. By providing flexible, safe, and realistic environments, these spaces ensure crews are ready to meet today’s risks while also anticipating those that may emerge in the future.
As the demands on fire and rescue services continue to grow, investment in state-of-the-art training facilities is essential. They put action at the centre of the learning journey, giving crews the opportunity to make sense of the experience post exercise, and embed skills through hands-on tasks that could prove essential to the preservation of life.
From tackling the increase in battery-related fires to managing increasingly complex rescue operations, designing these facilities around the fire risks of tomorrow will be the foundation of firefighter readiness and ultimately, the safety of communities across the UK.
Chris Gilbert, Associate Director of Architecture at Pick Everard
For more information please visit website pickeverard.co.uk