Last fall, the City Councils for the four A.B.L.E. cities approved a shared construction bid to tear down the existing burn facility and replace it with a state-of-the-art structure. The new facility will meet training needs for decades to come.
Since 1987, the cities of Apple Valley, Burnsville, Lakeville, and Eagan (A.B.L.E.) have shared a joint fire training facility in Burnsville. The A.B.L.E. Facility, located off of River Ridge Boulevard, has hosted trainings for thousands of firefighters, police officers and other first responders. However, deteriorating walls, corrosion, and poor ventilation have rendered the facility’s burn building and training tower unusable in recent years.
Last fall, the City Councils for the four A.B.L.E. cities approved a $1.6 million dollar shared construction bid to tear down the existing burn building and tower and replace them with a
state-of-the-art structure. The new facility will meet training needs for decades to come.
Construction of the new burn building, which will be built on the same location as the former, began last fall. The new building will be four times as large as the former stand-alone burn building, and will incorporate the functions of a burn building and training tower into one single facility. The new building will allow for burning on multiple levels. It will also mimic the construction of large commercial and residential buildings that are typical in the south metro. Construction is scheduled to be completed this summer.