"When the center opens, it will be the major training base in Taiwan for our special search and rescue teams and regular fire fighters to get them into top gear in terms of ability, skills and physical strength," the NFA said.

The training center, located in Jhushan township in the central county of Nantou, is scheduled to be completed at the end of the year at a cost of NT$2.3 billion (US$71 million) and will become operational on Jan. 19, according to the NFA.

The 109-hectare complex has a total floor area of 48,000 square meters, 12 training grounds, 49 fire simulation facilities and a dormitory that can accommodate 732 people.

It is the third largest fire training complex in the world, after the 250-hectare Fire Service College Moreton-in-Marsh in England and a 150-hectare facility at Texas A&M University in the United States.

"The NFA's fire training center might not be the biggest but it features the most simulation complexes in the world," according to the fire agency.

The special training facilities in the complex include replicas of tunnels, underground rail stations, ships, aircraft, industrial complexes, houses, an apartment complex and a multi-purpose commercial building. The simulations include senarios that involve petrochemicals, riptides, mudslides and earthquakes.

The NFA said the most realistic conditions can be simulated for training in rescue and evacuation from areas such as smoke-filled tunnels and railway stations where accidents have occurred.

The complex also features an emergency operation center, which will serve as a backup for the Central Emergency Operation Center in Sindian, Taipei County, according to the NFA.

(By Lin Shen-hsu and Rachel Chan)