The City of Twin Falls has gathered to dedicate the new fire training facility under construction. The Jim Bieri Regional Fire Training Center held an open house and a dedication ceremony in front of a large crowd of firefighters, city council members and other Magic Valley community members.
Jim Bieri was the founder of the Twin Falls Rural Fire District. Deputy Fire Chief Mitchell Brooks said that in the early 90s, the district did not have fire protection, while the city limits did.
He noted that Bieri’s contributions were instrumental in providing fire coverage to the entire district.
Brooks said: “He helped bring a lot of new equipment for our fire department that we didn’t have.
“He added some additional funding so we could train a bit more and serve a larger body of constituents.”
The ceremony featured five speakers, including Fire Chief Les Kenworthy and Mayor Ruth Pierce, who all thanked the city, donors and the community for their support of the nearly five-year-long project.
Kenworthy also announced that the facility’s buildings will bear the names of Fred Walker and Jim Olson, two fire commissioners who passed away during construction.
Brooks discussed how the facility will enhance firefighter training across the Magic Valley. He said: “This is going to allow our firefighters to have a place to train indoors throughout all weather conditions.
“This combos with our training tower really well, they can do classroom work in here and then go out and do the fieldwork at the training tower.”
The event ended with a live fire demonstration in which crews extinguished a fire inside the Drager Training Tower.
While half the training facility is under construction, Brooks said the facility will also benefit other rural fire districts across the Magic Valley.
The Jim Bieri Regional Fire Training Center held an open house and a dedication ceremony to Magic Valley community members, firefighters and city councilors.
