News Details
RIBBON CUTTING HELD FOR FIRE ACADEMY TRAINING COMPLEX
(Dacula, Ga., Oct. 6, 2016) – Current and future firefighters and paramedics in Gwinnett County will now be able to train in a state-of-the-art facility. The County held an official ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 3:45 p.m. to mark the end of construction for a $9.7 million expansion of the fire academy training complex. Construction of the new complex was funded by the citizen approved Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). Contractors and architects for the Phase-I and Phase-II project included Precision Planning, Southeastern Site Development and Cooper & Company General Contractors. The construction project was coordinated by Gwinnett County Support Services and the fire department’s Business Services Division.
“We are grateful for the support from our citizens and the Board of Commissioners to be able to provide a world-class training facility for new recruits and continuing education for existing personnel,” said Gwinnett Fire Chief Casey Snyder. The new facility replaced a much older and obsolete complex that was built in 1984. The former academy building measured 9,000 square feet, housed a number of cramped offices for instructors and administrative staff and only had three classrooms to conduct training programs.
The new academy campus was built in two phases and features a large academic building, open-air training pavilion, apparatus and storage building and a heavy-duty driving pad with a covered observation deck. The new campus was built around an existing high-rise training tower and burn building. The academic building measures 35,000 square feet and includes eight large classrooms, instructor and administrative offices, workout center, resource library, industrial kitchen, shower and locker space, conference area and separate paramedic training labs. The large open-air pavilion allows for outdoor training to take place year-round in all weather conditions. The three-bay apparatus building will house fire trucks and ambulance units for driver training and apparatus familiarization. The apparatus building also has two classrooms for driver training lectures and an area for incident command practical exercises. The heavy-duty driving pad allows personnel learning how to maneuver the large trucks during emergency and non-emergency travel to perfect their skills to respond safely and drive with due regard for all motorists. Instructors are now able to evaluate the progress of new and seasoned drivers during training from an elevated observation deck.
Elected officials and County staff attended the ribbon cutting ceremony and toured the new training complex. All expressed their gratitude for what the men and women who will train in the new facility will do throughout their careers to serve and protect the community.
Dropbox photo album link of the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/q9xmzlmrrdfvhtq/AAB_csqI8HQZtCeoMHwEzggka?dl=0
Dropbox video link of the new facility and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony: https://www.dropbox.com/s/1pzrb2azk4c9nzv/Gwinnett%20Fire%20Academy%20Complex2%20-%20Ribbon%20Cutting%20-%20Oct.%204%202016.mp4?dl=0