Fire training center could get addition

FLORENCE — The Florence Fire Rescue training center gets a great deal of use and fire officials said it could be utilized more with a larger training center building.

The center at 5448 Chisholm Road is the training facility for Florence firefighters but also is an Alabama Fire College regional training center. Departments from throughout the state and nation, as well as the Department of Defense, have used it for training sessions, Training Chief Jason Kelley said.

“We literally have people from all over the country,” Kelley said. “Anything taught in the fire college can be taught here. There’s a lot of training involved in firefighting. People have no idea how much goes into it.”

The building housing the classroom has capacity for approximately 20 people.

Fire Chief Tim Anerton wants to add a building measuring approximately 40 feet by 50 feet. Those measurements would triple the capacity.

“I have about $290,000 budgeted for this classroom and we’re optimistic we can get this done in that amount of less,” Anerton said.

The addition to the training facility is great news not just for the instructors at the training center, but for nearby fire chiefs.

“Anytime there is a class going on at that training center we try to send our guys, but we also know there is limited space. So, hearing they are expanding that center will give us a better chance to send our guys up there for classes,” Russellville Fire Chief Joe Mansell said.

Mansell said he remembers his days of training at the center and how limited the space was.

“Yea, they could only get about 20 of us in that classroom at most,” he said. “And when it came time for classes, we would do our best to go to Florence to train.”

Mansell said once a year a majority of the fire departments in the north Alabama area will target certain classes which need to be taught because their departments may be lacking. He said once those classes are scheduled, they are taught in Florence or Muscle Shoals.

“We do our best to make sure our guys know about those classes and hope we can get in there given the limited space at Florence,” Mansell said. “This expansion will not only help them, but firefighters throughout the region.”

A training session lasts a week or longer, and the Florence facility is used by outside departments approximately 15 times a year.

Kelley said the additional building could increase usage to around 20 times per year. He said firefighters from out of town who attend the sessions stay at local hotels and eat at local restaurants.

“It does put a little bit back into the local economy,” he said.

City Councilman Thomas Spence, chairman of the council’s Public Safety Committee, told council members about the proposal during a Jan. 20 meeting.

The allocation needs formal council approval but already has been approved in the special projects budget. Officials are nearing the point of putting the project out for bids.

Kelley said he appreciates city officials for their interest in the project.

“This is going to give us a lot of opportunities going forward,” he said.

Anerton said the building was constructed in 1977.

“It has served well and we’ve modified that building to try to meet our needs as growth has happened,” he said. “The number of state certifications we host and teach now and the number of students has grown so much in capacity. The student-to-space ratio is where we’re struggling.”

Kelley said several hundred trainees use the facility annually, not including the Florence firefighters.

The overall training center includes various facilities such as a multi-level building for training on fire response.

“The feedback we’re getting is people really enjoy coming to our facility,” Anerton said. “We have quality instructors and we have repeat customers. That’s what we want.

“We have made a lot of upgrades to the facility already. A lot has been performed by our own personnel without having to hire outside contractors. Firefighters can be jacks of all trades to an extent. We want to build just a shell of a building and then our own personnel can make modifications to it.”

Kevin Taylor contributed to this report.