Our Bricklayers’ Local 1 Apprentices recently gave their time on a community outreach project at the St. Louis Fire Department, replacing damaged block walls on multiple floors of the training tower.
The 8-story training tower is designed to mimic more common firefighting scenarios, allowing each separate floor to be engulfed in flame and extinguished without spreading through the rest of the tower. After years of being set on fire and extinguished, the existing block walls needed to be torn down and rebuilt after being repeatedly damaged by fire and high-pressured water during those training exercises.
The St. Louis Fire Department Training Tower
Over several weeks, our Apprentices demolished and removed the existing exterior block walls, did all of the layout work, toothed-out and replaced a portion of the interior chute walls, replaced the structural rebar and rebuilt the exterior block walls, and grouted the newly rebuilt exterior and chute walls solid to make them stronger and more heat-resistant than before. They also rebuilt a few of the concrete column wraps to protect the structural concrete columns holding up the tower from getting damaged by fire.
Bricklayers Local 1 of Missouri Apprentice Coordinator Dale Jennewein is shown giving instruction to the Apprentices.
Bricklayers Local 1 of Missouri Apprentice Richard Davis-Boren is shown replacing the cracked and broken block on the interior chute.
Bricklayers Local 1 of Missouri Apprentice Josh Rehme is shown drilling into the concrete floor to install rebar, with the assistance of Apprentice Sean O’Neill.
In addition to the time and labor provided by our Bricklayers Local 1 Apprentices, all of the materials and equipment to complete the project were donated. We’d like to thank Robert Kelly of Bricklayers’ Local 1 Signatory Contractor Heitkamp Masonry for donating the use of their electric hoist and scaffold to support the hoist, Mark Wilhelms of Midwest Block & Brick for donating all of the blocks, and Craig Kasten of Spec Mix for donating all of the mortar and grout to lay the blocks.
Bricklayers Local 1 of Missouri Apprentices Nick Yoho and Richard Davis-Boren shown laying block for the new exterior walls.
Bricklayers Local 1 of Missouri Apprentices Brennan Jennewein and Ben Fox shown laying block for the new exterior walls.
Shown in these photos are Bricklayers Local 1 of Missouri Level 5 Apprentice Richard Davis-Boren (indentured to John Smith Masonry), Level 6 Apprentice Nick Yoho (indentured to Leonard Masonry), Level 5 Apprentice Spencer Newton (indentured to Lampkin Masonry), Level 3 Apprentice Edson Garcia (indentured to Lampkin Masonry), Level 5 Apprentice Sean O'Neill (indentured to Jahnsen Masonry), Level 5 Apprentice Josh Rehme (indentured to Patrico Masonry), Level 5 Apprentice Brennan Jennewein (indentured to Heitkamp Masonry), Level 5 Apprentice Ben Fox (indentured to JDS Masonry), Level 5 Apprentice Ben Rufkahr (indentured to Lampkin Masonry) and Level 5 Apprentice Cyril Jennewein (indentured to John Smith Masonry). All are accompanied by Bricklayers Local 1 Apprentice Coordinator Dale Jennewein.
Bricklayers Local 1 of Missouri Apprentices (l to r) Sean O’Neill, Richard Davis-Boren, Spencer Newton and Edson Garcia are shown with Apprentice Coordinator Dale Jennewein (second from left) in front of one of the completed exterior walls.
Additional photos of our Apprentices at work shown below.
