GENESEE COUNTY, MI – The Genesee Intermediate School District today broke ground on what will soon be the state’s only fire training facility that is not owned by a municipality’s department.
It’s a first-of-its-kind fire training facility that will allow the district to more than double its student capacity for training firefighters and other first responders.
Located just south of the Genesee Career Institute parking lot, officials hope construction of the new fire training facility will be finished in May 2023 – allowing current students to finish their training in the new building.
Kirk Wilkinson, Burton fire chief and leader of the Genesee County Association of Fire Chiefs, helped design the program alongside the GISD and the architects.
The facility will help students gain real-world experience in roof rescue, pulling hoses up stairwells, using an apparatus bay and setup before responding to calls.
The first fire training program was spawned after the Burton Fire Department donated a fire truck to the GISD, with an ask to in turn create a training program to help address staffing issues that departments across the country face.
Firefighters are in high demand across the state of Michigan and in Genesee County.
Wilkinson said many of the students in the first session are already working in the field.
“We put firefighters right out of high school to several departments throughout the county,” he said. “... So, we are having the impact that we wanted to have. We’re hoping to put more and more sessions together and be able to distribute more and more firefighters.”
Students can earn Firefighter 1 and 2 qualifications via written and practical tests to be certified through the State of Michigan after completing the training.
There were 24 students in the first class and the new facility will accommodate 72 students each year. Both 11th and 12th grade Genesee County students are eligible for the class.
If Genesee County cannot fill the entire program, students from other counties will have the ability to participate.
Collin Diekman, a firefighter with the Swartz Creek Fire Department, was a student in the first session. He said the program offered a unique opportunity to get his state certifications before he graduated high school and turned 18 years old.
The total cost of the investment was $2.4 million, GISD Deputy Superintendent Tricia Hill said after the groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, July 26. The land was purchased for $50,000.
Kingscott, an architectural firm, designed the facility and is working with Clark Construction, a construction management company, to construct it.
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