Ontario Construction News staff writer
A new fire training tower has been launched in St. Catharines, bringing back a dedicated space for local firefighters after almost ten years of using training facilities in nearby towns.
The $2.3-million tower was constructed on the site of the city’s old structure on Renown Road, which overlooks Twelve Mile Creek and Highway 406. The previous tower, built in 1974, was taken out of service in 2017 due to safety issues.
Duomax Developments Limited, a contractor based in Vineland, took care of demolishing the old tower as well as handling foundations, assembly, electrical services, and site work for the new building.
The pre-engineered steel training tower was provided by WHP Training Towers, with a large part of the steel made right here in Canada. Design and consulting work came from Whiteline Architects Inc. and Hallex Engineering Ltd. The project team also included Brouwer Building Systems as the steel building contractor and Archaeological Services Inc.
Construction on the tower started in July 2025 and reached substantial completion by Dec. 31, 2025, with finishing touches wrapped up recently.
This new facility will enable St. Catharines Fire and Emergency Services to conduct local training exercises that include live-fire scenarios, rappelling and rope training, search and rescue operations, firefighter survival techniques, and high-rise firefighting methods.
Before having this training tower available, firefighters from St. Catharines had to travel to Fort Erie, Niagara Falls, and Grimsby for their training sessions. Some practices were also done within municipal buildings like stairwell runs and hose drills at the Carlisle Street parking garage.
The project received $1 million from provincial funding to aid construction efforts while helping the city meet new mandatory firefighter certification requirements in Ontario.
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