St. Cloud Fire Rescue breaks ground on training facility expansion

  • Members of St. Cloud Fire Rescue throw ceremonial dirt Friday to mark the groundbreaking of the department’s new Fire Training Building. PHOTOS/TERRY LLOYD, CITY OF ST. CLOUD
    Members of St. Cloud Fire Rescue throw ceremonial dirt Friday to mark the groundbreaking of the department’s new Fire Training Building. PHOTOS/TERRY LLOYD, CITY OF ST. CLOUD
  • Members of St. Cloud Fire Rescue throw ceremonial dirt Friday to mark the groundbreaking of the department’s new Fire Training Building. PHOTOS/TERRY LLOYD, CITY OF ST. CLOUD
    Members of St. Cloud Fire Rescue throw ceremonial dirt Friday to mark the groundbreaking of the department’s new Fire Training Building. PHOTOS/TERRY LLOYD, CITY OF ST. CLOUD

St. Cloud Mayor Nathan Blackwell, Deputy Mayor Kolby Urban, City Manager Veronica Miller, and St. Cloud Fire Rescue Chief Jason Miller shoveled some dirt Friday to break ground on a new city Fire Rescue Department’s Fire Training Building.

The new 7,000-square-foot building site will be located in the existing public safety training complex on Cord Avenue, off of Pine Tree Drive, south of the St. Cloud city limits.

“The expanded training capabilities this new facility represents will help us with recruiting and retaining firefighters and account for growth in the Department over the next 25 years,” said Chief Miller.

The existing training facility dates from the 1960s and can only accommodate training for 20 firefighters, while each shift now has 25 personnel, city officials said. Even with renovations over the years, the facility cannot support the technology requirements for current fire and rescue training.

The new facility can host Fire Standards I and II courses, which will enhance opportunities for public safety training both locally and regionally, reducing the shortage of certified firefighters statewide. There will be enough space for up to 100 student stations. The new facility, expected to be completed in late spring of 2024, will be one of just a handful of department-owned, state- certified training facilities in Florida.

“The St. Cloud City Council is steadfastly committed to supporting public safety,” said Mayor Blackwell. “This project is definitely a testament to that commitment. It will help to ensure that our firefighters have the resources they need to keep our community safe.”

Additional office space for Fire Training and Fire Prevention staff and a conference area will be included in the $3.7 million facility, to be completed by Quinn Commercial, which also constructed the multistory Fire Training Facility at the same location. That facility has several state-of-the-art features, including a burn tower, a live fire training simulator, and a technical rescue training area.

For more information on the City of St. Cloud Fire Rescue see https://bit.ly/3rQ0dfS