PAPILLION, Neb. (KMTV)– "Because of this facility, we are going to put on a 6 or 8 or 10-week class, have firefighters learning the skills that we want to teach them at our own facility," Fire Captain Chad Jeffers said.
- Papillion Fire Department now has it's own training facility.
- The facility was paid for by federal grants as well as help from the city.
- Firefighters will start using it Aug. 16.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The project began five years ago when the department recognized the need for an in-house fire academy.
"Because of this facility, we are going to put on a 6 or 8 or 10-week class, have firefighters learning the skills that we want to teach them at our own facility," Fire Captain Chad Jeffers said.
This building will aid in search and rescue training and simulate heat conditions. The department will also be able to light fires, allowing them to train under realistic conditions, meaning they can recreate any building type firefighters might encounter.
One big advantage to this facility is the walls and layout can be changed, according to Jeffers.
"For the past 20 years, we have made do with finding buildings or doing a lot of our training at the fire stations, which serves its purpose. But having a centralized building built specifically for fire training is a huge addition to our fire department," he said.
The nearly $1 million facility was funded by $ 600,000 in federal grants and another $ 300,000 from the city fo Papillion
Firefighters will start training in the new facility on Aug. 16.
