Is it safe for the neighborhood? Yes — and here's exactly why. A look inside the new training facility at Station 110 in Arden Hills.

The facility includes a classroom, a three-story training tower with two floors of live fire training, and space for outdoor training and scenarios. A training mezzanine with movable maze walls for search training is coming next.

The live-fire prop burns clean propane — the same fuel as a backyard grill. The smoke is water-based and non-toxic, and it clears quickly. There are no toxic byproducts, and the simulated smoke poses no danger to anyone inside or outside the building.

For years, training like this meant sending our crews out of town for the day. Now it happens here, minutes from the neighborhoods we protect. Better prepared crews, closer to the people who need them.

Lake Johanna Fire Department has served Arden Hills, North Oaks and Shoreview since 1943.