City of Marshfield Seeking Request for Proposal for New State-of-the-Art Training Facility

Monday, March 31st, 2025 -- 9:01 AM

(Bree Bylak, WSAW) -The City of Marshfield has a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a new state-of-the-art training facility.

According to Bree Bylak with WSAW, the project would likely replace the current facilities used by the Marshfield Fire and Rescue Department and Mid-State Technical College.

The Marshfield Fire and Rescue Department frequently uses their current five-acre facility in town to keep their team’s work polished. However, Chief Everett Mueller said it is showing its age as many of the structures are the same as when first built around 2003.

Some components on the to-do list include the infrastructure of the burn facility, lack of utilities like hydrants and safety risks from the aging props. Though they have completed minor updates for safety and short-term functionality, Chief Mueller said a new facility will allow firefighters to have more realistic training.

“So that people have the ability to have muscle memory when it comes to understanding what needs to happen at a fire,” said Chief Mueller. “We have well-trained people, but we feel that we can definitely enhance some of those skills. This is really just an investment in the future of Marshfield.”

Chief Mueller said the purpose of the RFP is to start a long-term project that will set the stage for a strategic plan forward. He hopes the RFP will open the door for some much needed improvements.

“We’re to the point where we’ve got some infrastructure things that we need to change,” said Chief Mueller. “We felt that that was a perfect time to go ahead and bring in an outside architect that could tell us exactly what this plot of land could do.”

Chief Mueller said the RFP process is already funded by long-term planning by the Fire Department and Mid-State. As for the cost of the whole project, they hope to learn what their total might be through proposals.

Chief Mueller wants the facility to draw in people from around the region. He said this would increase both the grants they could use to fund the program and the ability to collaborate with other departments.

“That means working with the outside departments that are also here that will bring in collaboration with them so that they can come train with us, and maybe we can get on the same ticket as far as how we’re training,” said Chief Mueller.

Chief Mueller said he hopes the master plan will help them develop a vision for the future and prioritize what their needs are for the new facility. Some examples of possible training props for the new training center include support facilities, which have functioning bathrooms, a 3-story training tower, a flashover simulator, ventilation training systems, or a liquid petroleum gas prop.

The proposals are due by noon on April 18 to the City of Marshfield’s Public Works office. The proposals will be considered by a committee including members of the Marshfield Fire and Rescue Department, Mid-State Technical College, city staff, the Board of Public Works and the Police and Fire Commission.

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