August 1, 2009
For more information:
areidelbach@louisa.org
Louisa County Moves Forward With “Burn Building”
“The Louisa County Board of Supervisors is committed to providing and supporting core public safety services for the citizens of Louisa County. In March, the board approved construction of the much anticipated fire training center located just outside the town of Mineral,” said County Administrator Dale Mullen.
To meet the ever increasing need for training opportunities for volunteer and career firefighters, Louisa County Emergency Services Department and the Volunteer Firefighters Association joined together to build a 3,500 square foot, multistory building using high end technology for burning structure simulations.
“The state of the art facility will provide Louisa County with a multiuse facility that will be utilized for conducting critically needed initial training and continuing education sessions for all facets of emergency incident preparedness and response,” said Fire Chief Robert Dubé.
Over the course of the past ten years, in partnership with the Louisa County Volunteer Fire Association, Louisa County has been developing a training facility for use by the seven volunteer fire departments along with the county’s department of emergency services. Developed on approximately 18 acres, the site currently has a classroom, garage and facilities being used by volunteers and full time staff. This site is also the new remote assembly site and staging area for off-site security operations for North Anna Power Station.
The new building will provide opportunities for live fire training, search and rescue, ventilation, rope operations, ladders and many other training opportunities that are not currently available. Additionally, the facility will be used to host state and national level training courses.
“Live fire training is essential to becoming a firefighter,” said Ricky Bywaters, President of the Louisa County Volunteer Firefighters Association. “Having a local training facility decreases the costs for training, as well as offers the ability to conduct additional training because of the site’s convenient location. Our firefighters will now have the opportunity to prepare as much as other jurisdictions that have their own facilities.”
Chairman Willie L. Harper (Mineral) said “The board of supervisors places high value on the commitment and dedication of the Volunteer Fire and Emergency Medical Service Providers. This facility is an important step forward in ensuring the highest level of professionalism in the full time and volunteer ranks. Our community should expect nothing less than the highest standards of commitment and professionalism from all emergency services personnel.”
Construction of the facility should be completed in November/December 2009.
