FORT SMITH — The Fort Smith board of directors has approved a new $1 million training tower for the city's firefighters.
The new tower will be four stories tall and include a two-story "burn room" for training. Fire Chief Mike Richards said the new facility will be a major upgrade and will be one-of-a-kind in western Arkansas.
Fort Smith firefighters now train in vacant lots or empty streets. Richards says the new multistory tower can help simulate actual fire conditions that firefighters face.
According to the Southwest Times Record, the new tower will be built at the Fort Smith landfill.