What Fire Facilities does

Fire Facilities is a U.S.-based manufacturer specializing in pre-engineered steel fire training structures for live fire training. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, the company designs, fabricates, and ships a portfolio of 17 standard tower models ranging from single-story burn buildings (The Trainee, Volunteer 1) to five-story high-rise simulators (The Commissioner, Fire Chief), plus mobile trailer-mounted units and fully custom designs. Its core technology differentiator is the Westec Insulation System, a patented two-part burn room lining (US Patent 7,823,357 B2) using stainless steel panels over a ceramic blanket rated for 1850°F continuous exposure, with a 15-year non-prorated warranty and a track record of 330+ installations without warranty claims. Supporting products include Westemp calcium silicate insulating panels and the Scout Bluetooth pyrometer for real-time burn room temperature monitoring.

The company operates an enterprise field sales model through three Regional Sales Managers (all former firefighters or military members) covering U.S. states and Canadian provinces, selling directly to municipal fire departments, U.S. military installations across all branches, fire academies, and industrial customers. Pricing ranges from under $150,000 for entry-level structures to over $250,000 for premium multi-story towers, with financing available through 3-15 year tax-exempt leases and government purchasing cooperative HGACBuy. Ancillary recurring services include NFPA 1400 compliant inspection programs (annual, five-year, ten-year) and grant assistance for FEMA Fire Act funding. The company holds IAS AC473 accreditation and 16 consecutive years of CSA A660-10 certification.

Fire Facilities is 100% employee-owned and operates as a subsidiary of TBS (Trachte Building Systems), a diversified conglomerate with 125+ years of combined manufacturing experience that was rebranded in 2026 to unify Fire Facilities alongside MakoRabco, Trac-Rite, and Trachte brands. The company has 500+ installations worldwide across 16 countries including the U.S., Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain, South Korea, Turkey, and Nigeria, and claims to be the only major manufacturer of steel fire training towers made in the USA.

Name

Fire Facilities

Legal name

Fire Facilities, Inc.

Website

https://firefacilities.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Fire Facilities designs, fabricates, and installs pre-engineered steel fire training towers, burn rooms, and mobile training units primarily for municipal fire departments, U.S. military installations, and fire academies across North America and select international markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Sun Prairie

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Fire Training Tower Sales: Sale of custom pre-engineered steel fire training towers, burn rooms, and mobile training units. Towers range from single-story burn buildings to 5-story high-rise simulators. Includes professional services for design, foundation design, and installation support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fire Facilities designs, fabricates, and manufactures pre-engineered steel fire training towers and burn rooms used by fire departments, military installations, and training academies for live fire training. The company also produces mobile/portable training units, proprietary burn room insulation systems, temperature monitoring accessories, and complementary inspection, financing, and grant assistance services.

Product overview

Fire Facilities is a manufacturer of pre-engineered steel fire training structures, offering a comprehensive product portfolio centered on fire training towers and burn rooms. The core product line includes 17 distinct tower models (The Captain, The Commissioner, The Fire Chief, The Deputy Chief, The Division Chief, The Lieutenant, The Firefighter, The Probie, Assistant Fire Chief, Battalion Chief, Fire Marshall, Hall Crawler, Trainee, Volunteer 1, Volunteer 2, Custom Tower) ranging from single-story burn buildings to five-story high-rise training structures. Mobile training solutions comprise The Mobile Trainee (trailer-mounted portable) and The Ready-Set-Go (preassembled portable unit). Supporting products include the proprietary Westec® Insulation System and Westemp® Insulating Panels for burn room lining, the Scout Temperature Monitoring System, and over 60 accessories (balconies, burn props, doors, ladders, rappelling equipment, smoke systems). The company also provides inspection services (annual, five-year, ten-year NFPA 1400 compliant), financing programs, and grant assistance. Fire Facilities is the only major manufacturer of Steel Fire Training Towers made in the USA, operating as a 100% employee-owned company under parent TBS (Trachte Building Systems).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Westec® Insulation System: A two-part burn room insulation system featuring stainless steel panels and an insulation blanket that protects training structures from extreme temperatures during live fire exercises.
• Westemp® Insulating Panels
• Scout Temperature Monitoring System

Products and services

• Fire Training Towers Pre-engineered steel fire training towers designed for live fire training exercises, ranging from single-story burn buildings to five-story high-rise simulation structures for fire departments, military, and academies.
• The Captain A four-story fire department training building spanning 25'L x 22'W x 40'H with a large footprint for many trainees, interior stairs, fixed ladder, and roof-mounted chop-out curb.
• The Commissioner The largest standard training structure model, 73' long and 40' high, with a four-story tower, two-story residential section, and one-story burn room annex with three burn areas.
• The Fire Chief A 60' long, 40' high training structure with residential-like design, burn room, interior stairs, fixed ladder, roof-mounted chop-out curbs, and parapet roof guard for multiple training exercises.
• The Deputy Chief A three-story fire training tower with four working deck levels, resembling a residential building with a 30' tower ideal for rappelling and laddering, featuring two burn rooms.
• The Division Chief A 36' high fire training tower spanning 16' wide x 36' long with seven rooms including a maze room with 12 movable partitions, inset corner balcony, and two burn areas.
• The Lieutenant A 34' high fire training building with burn room annex and parapet roof guard with chain opening for rappelling and roof exercises.
• The Firefighter A three-and-a-half-story training structure with five working deck levels, including a burn room with two exits, interior stairs, fixed ladder, and roof-mounted chop-out curb.
• The Probie A burn building at 25' height featuring first and second floors plus attic, with sloped roof ideal for roof exercises and support for rappelling and laddering.
• Assistant Fire Chief A fire training tower featuring a four-story tower, residential section, and burn room annex offering burn rooms for multiple training scenarios including laddering, rappelling, roof penetration, and high-angle rescue.
• The Battalion Chief A two-and-a-half-story training structure with four working deck levels resembling a residence with double-door entrance, two floors with L-shaped stairs, usable attic, gabled shutters, and burn room annex.
• The Fire Marshall A 66' long tower incorporating features from Fire Chief and Commissioner models, with floor doors for confined space training, L-shaped basement stairs, cantilevered balcony, and exterior fire escape.
• Custom Tower Fully custom-designed fire training structures built from scratch or based on customer/architect-provided layouts to meet specific departmental requirements.
• The Hall Crawler A two-story live fire training building with exterior stairs leading to a balcony accessing three interior rooms, providing apartment/hotel-like rescue training with two burn rooms and one corner burn area.
• The Trainee A single-story burn building with four rooms, one being a burn room, featuring a pitched roof for roof exercises.
• The Volunteer 1 A single-story burn building representing a single-story residence with attached garage, featuring two rooms, two exterior doors, and one interior door for basic fire training.
• The Volunteer 2 A two-story burn building with first floor burn room equipped with Westec Insulation System and Scout Temperature Monitoring, featuring interior and exterior ship's ladder and roof chop-out curb.
• The Mobile Trainee A portable fire training structure on a heavy-duty trailer chassis featuring a burn room, allowing instructors to conduct live fire evolutions at multiple locations.
• The Ready-Set-Go A preassembled portable fire training unit featuring a 24' long burn room and storage area, factory assembled for delivery on a flatbed trailer without requiring foundation or site preparation.
• Westec® Insulation System A patented two-part burn room insulation system with stainless steel exterior panels and insulated blanket interior, protecting structures up to 1850°F continuous temperatures with a 15-year warranty.
• Westemp® Insulating Panels Non-asbestos, incombustible 4' x 4' x 1" thick calcium silicate panels providing thermal insulation up to 1200°F continuous burn for burn room lining.
• Scout Pyrometer with Bluetooth Temperature monitoring system providing real-time data monitoring and data logging of up to nine thermocouples with Bluetooth connectivity to iPhone/Android devices for remote burn room temperature monitoring.
• Fire Training Tower Inspection Services NFPA 1400 compliant inspection programs including annual, five-year, ten-year, and follow-up inspection services conducted by licensed professional engineers.
• Financing Services Financing program offering terms up to 15 years for fire training structures and related costs with flexible payment options including monthly, quarterly, semiannual, and annual structures.
• Grant Assistance Grant funding assistance for fire departments seeking FEMA Fire Act grants, rural development grants, and other government programs to acquire fire training towers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Concrete structure installation typically costs 2 to 3 times more than pre-engineered steel structure
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TBS (Trachte Building Systems)coreOthers · 1 February 2024Parent holding company that unified Fire Facilities, MakoRabco, Trac-Rite, and Trachte brands under one platform in 2026 to coincide with the company's 125th anniversary. TBS Companies supports each team with shared resources and long-range vision.
• HGACBuycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNational purchasing cooperative program allowing government entities to purchase Fire Facilities products without competitive bidding. Fire Facilities products are available through the HGACBuy program.
• International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProud Supporter designation. Fire Facilities supports the professional development organization for fire service instructors.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Fireblast Global: Manufacturer of container-based and mobile fire training systems for industrial and municipal fire service customers. Directly competes with Fire Facilities' portable/mobile training units at the lower end of the price spectrum.
• BullEx Digital Safety: Maker of digital fire training simulators and extinguisher training systems serving fire departments, industrial facilities, and training academies. Competes with Fire Facilities for fire training budget dollars, particularly for entry-level and supplemental training use cases.
• Haagen Fire Training Products: European manufacturer of live fire training props, smoke generators, and burn room systems used by fire training centers. Directly comparable on burn room and prop offerings, with overlapping product lines to Westec/Westemp panels.
• Tactical Training Systems: Provider of tactical and fire training structures and props with overlapping customer base among fire departments and military units. Listed as a Fire Facilities partner on its website, but operates in adjacent product categories.

Emerging players

• FLAIM Systems: Provider of VR-based firefighter training systems using haptics and immersive scenarios. Adjacent/emerging competitor for training time and budget that would otherwise go to live-fire burn buildings.
• MagneGas (and gas-fired prop specialists): Providers of gas-fired training props and clean-burn fuel alternatives used in modern burn buildings. Adjacent technology used inside structures like those Fire Facilities builds, addressing environmental concerns with traditional Class A fuels.
• Container Training Solutions providers (e.g., Fire Safety Solutions): Niche container-based fire training structure manufacturers serving cost-conscious municipal and industrial buyers. Compete primarily at the low end of the live fire training market that Fire Facilities addresses with its Mobile Trainee and Ready-Set-Go units.

Broad incumbents

• Rosenbauer International: Global leader in fire trucks and firefighting equipment that also supplies training simulators and integrated training solutions to fire services. Overlaps with Fire Facilities at the training infrastructure level as part of a much broader portfolio.
• Dräger Safety: Major safety equipment manufacturer producing fire training simulators, gas detection, and SCBA equipment used by fire services. Competes indirectly for training facility budgets and offers broader fire service product portfolios.
• Task Force Tips (TFT): Established firefighting equipment manufacturer (nozzles, monitors, foam equipment) that supplies broader fire service infrastructure beyond training structures. Comparable from a customer-overlap and channel standpoint, though not a training-structure competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/Fire-Facilities/153255581360328?ref=ts&v=wall

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fire Facilities