ESPAÑOLA, N.M. (KRQE) – Firefighters in one New Mexico city had to travel for their training. That will change soon as they get a long-awaited facility. “This has been a dream in the Española Fire Department since we became a career department,” said John Wickersham, Assistant Fire Chief for the Española Fire Department.
The city of Española said they are excited to finally get a facility where their firefighters can receive hands-on fire training in their own backyard. “Right now, if you want any kind of live fire training, you have to go all the way to Socorro. This building will get you fire one certified,” said Wickersham.
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The Española Fire Department said the facility will help them get ready for real fires as it simulates different kinds of situations. “You can actually come in from the top and go down to simulate a basement fire. Then it’s going to have five stories for repelling,” said Wickersham.
The city purchased the burn building for $700,000. Funding for the tower came from capital outlay money.
This is phase one of the project. Phase two will include building a new fire station with funding from the state. “It’ll have living quarters on one side. The other side will have huge training rooms with showers, lockers, and bathrooms,” added Wickersham.
The city hopes the tower will be complete by August and said it will be a hub for nearby stations to also train their department. “The importance of this is not just working for the city of Española fire departments, but all the various volunteer fire departments,” said City of Española Mayor, John Ramon Vigil.
The department said every firefighter must have 18 hours a year at a live training facility. The city said this could also benefit residents because having firefighters train locally may lower insurance costs in the area.
