A new South Bay Public Training Center is being built at El Camino College to help train fire technology students and working firefighters. Emergency medical service professionals and law enforcement will also use the center.

Located on the western edge of parking lot L adjacent to Dominguez Channel, the new center will include a five-story tower, water hoses, fire suppression equipment, fire engines, props, classrooms, program offices and a large garage with storage facilities to protect vehicles and equipment from weather.

The five-story tower will simulate “real-life” fire incidents and incorporate artificial intelligence to monitor temperatures, read smoke and fire conditions, and use thermal imaging to detect the presence of human and animal life.

The facility will serve as a regional training hub to help the staff of the Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo and Torrance Fire Departments.

“Today is almost a decade in the making,” El Camino Public Safety Director Chief Jeff Baumunk said during the Sept. 29 groundbreaking ceremony. “This will be a state-of-the-art fire training center to allow our students here at El Camino College to have access to the latest and greatest technology in a safe environment.”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for firefighters is expected to increase by 7% by 2026.

For more than 30 years, El Camino has been training future firefighters, paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) at a center located at 206 W. Beach Ave. in Inglewood.

That facility was built in the late 1960s as Inglewood Fire Department’s training center. It then served as the South Bay Training Center until El Camino took over in the late 1980s.

El Camino will continue to train students in Inglewood until construction on the new center is completed.

“Advancements in technology will be incorporated into this facility to prepare the next generation of firefighters to be on the cutting edge in providing services to all the South Bay departments,” San Bernardino Assistant Fire Chief Martin Serna said.

Serna also served with the Torrance Fire Department for 29 years, eventually becoming fire chief.

He was credited by many at the groundbreaking ceremony for helping to establish the new South Bay training center. He, along with former El Camino College President Dena Maloney, appealed to California Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi for state funding to build the facility sometime between late 2017 and early 2018.

In 2018, Muratsuchi, who represents the 66th Assembly District where El Camino is located, secured $10 million from the state’s general fund to provide the initial support for the center.

“This project brought together two of my favorite causes: good schools and safe neighborhoods,” Muratsuchi said.

Vice President of Administrative Services Robert Suppelsa said El Camino has received $700,000 from the City of Torrance and the college will commit approximately $20 million of its own funds toward the development of the training center, in addition to the $10 million El Camino received from the state.

He estimates the total cost of the project to be $35 million.

The build-out will occur in three phases: phase one will include the construction of classrooms and administrative offices, phase two will include the development of the tower and propane system and phase 3 will include the garage and storage units.

Suppelsa said the asphalt surface of the current lot could not withstand the intense heat from fire or the weight of the fire engines. It will be removed and replaced by concrete.

Baumunk said the sale of the old center could bring significant revenue to the college, given its proximity to Sofi Stadium, the Intuit Dome and the City of Inglewood’s municipal yard next door.

Manhattan Beach Fire Department Division Chief Anthony Gomes, a 23-year veteran of the fire service, explained during large emergencies, departments have to rely on each other to save both lives and property. Practicing and strategizing together before a crisis is necessary to ensure the response is coordinated.

“The South Bay is unique in that the departments in this area do a really good job of collaborating in training everywhere from the recruit schools like El Camino, to the fire academies, to explorer programs, reserve programs and full-time professional firefighters,” Gomes said.

He said incidents are also growing in their complexity – from structural fires to wildland-urban interface fires, hazardous waste spills, escalating intensity of natural disasters and understanding new threats caused by increased use of batteries, their charging and storage for electric vehicles and technology.

“What makes this facility important is that it gives us a place to put all resources into one area so we can better help each other, share best practices, and bring in state-certified training,” Gomes said. “We will now have one fixed facility where we can do that as a team.”

Under the Los Angeles Area Fire Chiefs Association, the Regional Training Group coordinates training for 29 fire departments and 9,000 firefighters within L.A. County.

Los Angeles Area Regional Training Group (RTG) Executive Director Jim Birrell started with the Monterey Park Fire Department in 1983. He said firefighting has changed since then and coordinating training and communication efforts across L.A. County is essential.

“We do a lot of threat-based training for natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Our overall goal is to train as one,” Birrell said.

During the groundbreaking ceremony, Torrance City Mayor George Chen said Torrance would continue to support the center.

“As long as I’m sitting on the City Council, anything our fire department can do to help the training center with equipment or staffing, that’s my role,” Chen said.

The center will also prepare South Bay firefighters who are regularly called in to respond to wildfires and other disasters across the U.S. and internationally.

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, firefighters responded to 39,425 wildfires between Jan. 1, 2019 and Sept. 30, 2023.

“My dream is to have this be the premier center for fire training not only in the South Bay but in Southern California,” El Camino Trustee Nilo Michelin said. “We’ve seen climate change increasing fires in the west, in Hawaii and Alaska, what we’re doing at El Camino needs to happen statewide.”

The new center will be nearly double the size of the college’s current training site and will add classroom space enabling up to 45 students to participate in the Fire Academy each semester.

Currently, spring and fall semesters serve a maximum of 35 students.

Serna said many local departments are reaching out to high schools and middle schools to establish fire training camps to expose girls ages 12 to 17 to the fire service.

In the city of Torrance, the “Grow Our Own” program incorporates youth into ambulance operator training and supports them through paramedic training and El Camino’s Fire Academy.

Serna said women and people of color are needed in the fire service because “they give that different perspective.”

“The jobs are there, all around the United States; fire departments, and public safety as a whole, are truly hurting for personnel,” Baumunk said. “COVID took a toll and we are trying to play catch-up.”

Applications are due Dec. 7 for the spring 2024 El Camino Fire Academy class: Anyone interested in becoming a firefighter, paramedic or EMT can speak to counselors for support in enrolling as a student, applying for the public safety programs and accessing financial aid and other resources.