A new £7.4 million training facility for Babcock International Group is now complete.

Building contractor Britcon was appointed to develop the facility.

The Babcock International Group are chosen training partners for the London Fire Brigade (LFB).

The initiative aims to increase the amount of time available and the quality of training for firefighter training. It is estimated LFB will save £66 million over the next 25 years.

The Emergency Services Training Centre at Park Royal has been built on a brownfield site which was formerly use for industrial trading. The new facility includes a comprehensive firehouse with basement for fire behaviour and Breathing Apparatus (BA) and Real Fire training. The building also incorporates variable internal doors to provide a range of training scenarios, together with a range of rope access for high line rescue training and ladder training.


Britcon have experience working on a number of fire and rescue projects, including the £2m Real Fire Training Facility for South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue. The firm installed some of the most advanced fire simulation technology available, allowing crews to recreate real-life events and conditions.

Britcon advised Babcock during the bid process for the Park Royal training site, which started on site in June 2013. The features include two gas fired 'smoxidisers' that act like a catalytic converter to clean the smoke from seven carbonaceous burn training rooms in the building in compliance with the London clean air act.

Paul Clarkson, Managing Director at Britcon said: "We have built a very successful partnership with Babcock International and developed a highly successful, bespoke model for the 21st century needs of the UK fire and rescue service.

"This is a unique, world leading facility that incorporates specialised materials and structures to withstand temperatures of up to 800 degrees combined with techniques to manage smoke and water extraction as well as methods to provide utmost safety for training firefighters."

(LM/CD)