Schuylkill County’s new fire training facility will show new firefighters what it’s like to be inside a burning building before they do it for real.

It’s a unique facility capable of replicating 1,000-plus degree temperatures, designed with input from local firefighters.

Members of the Schuylkill Volunteer Firefighter Association, who built the burn house, decided to try it on Sunday. Local officials and the project’s architect were on hand to see the new facility.

“This has been on the radar for six years,” David Sattizahn said. Right now all the firefighters have been going out of the county to get this done. Now they’ll be able to train in their backyard.”

The association secured a $2.4 million loan to build and maintain the new facility. They also received a $450,000 matching grant from an anonymous donor. Legislators and the county commissioners have agreed to put hotel tax revenue toward the project over the next 10 years.

“To have volunteer firefighters with their lives on the line, it’s important we give them the training, and we give them the ability to do this,” Commissioner George Halcovage said.

Schuylkill County has more than 100 volunteer fire departments, one of the highest totals of any county in the state.

But in recent years those firefighters have had to send their trainees outside the county to use a “burn house,” one of the most important training tools a firefighter can use.

Burn houses are a required part of any firefighter essentials training program, because it replicates the hazards inside a fire.

Inside a burning house, temperatures near the ceiling can reach well more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Firefighting gear is only fully effective to about 350 degrees, Minersville fire Chief Eric Eichenberg said.

In the burn house, firefighters are taught to stay low, where the temperature is more bearable.

The burn house mimics the construction of row homes in towns like Mahanoy City. They present a unique challenge for firefighters because of the proximity of the homes, and shared attic space. With several departments covering areas with state prisons, there is also a jail cell.

“The way we modeled this building was to mimic Schuylkill County construction. It’s basically row house construction — a double-block home with an attached garage,” Eichenberg said.

The special features were possible because they chose a firm, RDG Planning and Design, a Nebraska company that specializes in burn houses.

“We designed it with a lot of input of theirs, and with the work we’ve done across the country, brought the two together to make a facility where they can train more instinctively instead of reacting when they get to the site,” architect David Streebin said.

The temperature inside is controlled by computers. That means they can control the flames and considerably extend the life span of the house. One of the reasons Schuylkill’s old burn house was condemned was because they couldn’t control the amount of flame, and the building just didn’t last as long.

Commissioner Gary Hess said it was a lot more advanced than the facilities he trained in as a young firefighter.

“We used to simulate burns in an old house, or whatever. Here, I’ve been in it while it’s not smoking, and it’s state of the art,” he said.