The Owensboro Fire Department hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking for the construction of their new Fire Training Center, which will include an education center, training building, a 4-story modular tower, and a burn room.
OFD Chief James Howard said the facility, to be located at 1323 Daviess Street, has been a long time coming.
“Over the next few months, a lot is going to happen within a short period of time, and we couldn’t be more proud of that,” Howard said. “Of course, the thing that we’re looking forward to is being able to have our firefighters come in here and actually train with their skills.”
Howard noted there has been pent-up demand for the training facility since the previous facilities were torn down earlier this year. While OFD has been able to use a temporary classroom building at the former ABC Rental building, the new center will allow them to have hands-on training.
The different structures are being completed at unique paces. The 4-story tower has already started going up; Howard said that the structure came in a kit and that a team will complete the job in 6-8 weeks.
“So within a couple of months, this should be a functioning drill tower with burn rooms, and we can actually burn inside and do evolution drills inside,” he said.
The foundation for the educational building has already been laid, and Howard said they are working on getting the ground paved so they will be able to bring trucks and other equipment to the grounds during the day. The educational building is expected to be finished by June 2024.
Once the educational building is complete, they hope to turn the former ABC Rental building into a public education building where OFD will welcome community members in to learn about fire safety.
“We’re gonna try to do some creative things with that. That’s not all completely planned out yet because we’re kind of in a transitional state,” Howard said.
The new training center is part of the $30 million plan for Operation: Firehouse, wherein the city is renovating fire stations throughout the community.
Fire Station 3 on Cravens Avenue has been undergoing renovations since the spring. The operation began with the renovation of Fire Station 2 last summer.
Howard said: “It really is a privilege just to even be chief while the opportunity is here to do this.”
