MUHLENBERG CO., KY (WFIE) -
Construction is underway in Muhlenberg County on a new state fire rescue training center.
It will be used by the military, various fire departments and local law enforcement.
Plans to construct this facility began about two years ago, and once it's completed, it will be just the fourth of it's kind in the nation.
Right across from the Wendell H. Ford training site in Greenville, work is quickly moving along on this 6,000 square foot training center.
"We really have some opportunities here to expand our future training and just make it such a tremendous facility for our responders," said Pat Thompson with the Kentucky Fire Commission.
Thompson says it will be a central office combined with classrooms to offer a wide range of classes to first responders from all over.
"We're going to start out on a minimum basis, we're going to build our way up and hopefully in a couple years we'll have a variety of classes going every week," said Thompson.
U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Jimmie Evans says just a few years ago they really stepped up their fire training and this facility being so close to the National Guard training site is a big plus.
"We were really lacking that when we first, the Kentucky National Guard first got the military firefighting teams and the ability to get them trained, get them up to speed so they'd be ready for deployment," said Evans.
Next door at the Wendell Ford site is a fire readiness center with all kinds of advanced fire equipment, and Evans says now they'll have the space for higher levels of training.
"It's going to give us a lot more availability and realistic training for our firefighters, all the way from structural firefighting, air craft firefighting, anything that you can think we might need," said Evans.
After this facility is completed, Thompson says they hope to expand again to make this property even more valuable to firefighters and other emergency agencies.
"Adding in the way of aircraft rescue, hazardous material training, and other fixed props to assist us in training our personnel," said Thompson.
Construction is ahead of schedule and could be completed as early as September of this year.
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