Washington Township lands fire training center

Jun. 20—A new firefighter training center is coming to Washington. Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb announced this week the Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department will become a training center later this year. That center comes with a $750,000 facility that will serve Daviess and the surrounding counties.

"It's going to benefit everybody in the area," said Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department Chief David Gray. "It's going to allow us to do live burn training. We will be able to set it up for law enforcement to use for training."

"That is amazing. I'm pretty excited about it. They passed us up the first time then a few weeks ago reached out and said we were being considered again," said Washington Township Trustee Michelle Guy. "We visited the new training center in Wabash and it is just spectacular. It will be a big asset for our guys to train in here. It is going to be an amazing opportunity. Hopefully, it will help recruit more volunteers in Daviess County."

The new training center is part of a specific program by the governor called Hub and Spoke. The legislature has put $10 million toward the program to improve the availability for fire fighters to receive training.

"Every Hoosier community relies on and deserves a strong public safety presence," Gov. Holcomb said. "For years, gaps have challenged and stretched Indiana's fire service across the state. Now, with this new program, we have the opportunity to properly support all those firefighters who sacrifice so much for each and every one of us every day."

"It is difficult to get people to volunteer these days is tough," said Gray. "If you can find someone to join, then they are required to get 100 hours of training. Then we were asking them to drive 50 to 100 miles to a training center every other weekend. That's tough. This will make it easier for a lot of people in our area to get that needed training."

Washington Township already has an old training facility located behind station two on the south side of town. That facility though did not offer the opportunities for fire fighters to get live fire training.

"We have a training center now, but it is not one we can use to do all of the training we need. That is going to get torn down next week," said Guy. "We expect to have the new one done in a matter of weeks. We will have to lay some foundations and we are getting people lined up to do that."

"We are getting a lot of support," said Gray. "Washington City Fire Chief Steve Waldon is backing this. The mayor has agreed to get us a water line with a hydrant back to the site. He has backed us all the way. Everybody has pitched in."

Earlier this year the state announced plans to eliminate what it called training deserts that were holding back volunteer fire fighters from getting certified. The state initially decided to build new training facilities in Wabash, Corydon, Rensselaer and Linton.

Besides Washington, the second round of centers will be in Chrisney, Paoli, Hartford City and Rushville.

"What we're doing has never been done in the state of Indiana," said Indiana Fire Marshal Steve Jones. "The majority of Indiana fire departments are made up of volunteers who are unable to travel far to receive the proper training. This plan tells them we care about the quality of training available to them, and we're committed to making it more accessible."

Local officials say that they expect to have their preparations for the training center done in a few weeks. The expectation is that it will be open and in operation before the end of the year.

"I'm sure the company that built the centers in Wabash and Linton will be doing the one here," said Gray. "So once we have our part ready it will be a matter of the state placing the order and getting them in here to work. We hope to have it ready to use by October."

While the training facility will be a big benefit for first responders, Gray says it could also have an impact on the greater community.

"Since this is supposed to be within 30 miles of other departments it may not impact the hotel business, but I can see people buying lunch here and gassing up their vehicles," he said.

The training center is the culmination of a dream for local fire departments and is going to be a very welcome addition to the community.

"It's something we have dreamed about and now it is coming true. It is going to be an asset for both the volunteer and professional fire departments in the area," said Gray. "I'm ecstatic. The fire service in all of Daviess County is for it and onboard. I'm just happy we got it and really look forward to getting it built and in operation."