Gaston College Regional Emergency Services Training Campus, Residential Burn Building

Prior to the completion of this project, all on-site residential training simulation had to be performed in the adjacent commercial burn building. The shear size and configuration of the large burn building severely limited the realism of a residential setting. The residential burn building is unlike most any others currently in use in that the floor plan mimics a three bedroom, two bath single family dwelling. It is constructed of masonry walls and a concrete roof deck. Each room has appropriate heat shields in order to protect the structure from heat associated with limited live burns. Trench drains are continuous throughout the building for training and building wash-down. A sloped, frame roof was set above the concrete roof deck for more realistic training scenarios that include a continuous heat/smoke shaft for roof penetration training. Many of the beneficial details utilized in the commercial burn building were incorporated into this structure.