State to expand firefighter training
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Indiana is ramping up how it prepares firefighters for the job after launching four new training locations in the first of a four-phase expansion.
Gov. Eric Holcomb and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security announced the expansion Friday as part of the governor’s 2023 Next Level Agenda.
The “Hub-and-Spoke” training model means $7.7 million will be invested into the four sites, which will be located in Corydon, Linton, Rensselaer and Wabash. The state aims to complete and open the training facilities in the first quarter of 2024.
“When you look at the gaps we have in fire training, it’s primarily in rural areas,” said Steve Jones, Indiana State Fire Marshal, in a news release. “Volunteers do not have the flexibility to travel for hours to attend trainings. We selected these first sites to address some of these ‘training deserts,’ and there was significant local buy-in for the need for these sites.”
The state said the project will place high-quality training structures within 30 miles or 45 minutes of every career and volunteer department. Over a dozen sites already exist.
The sites will be locally owned and maintained with the state helping when necessary. The new training model will include a live burn.
An additional $10 million, allotted by the Indiana General Assembly last session in the two-year budget, will be used for new personal protective equipment for volunteer firefighters. The goal is to better equip these lowly-funded departments by replacing their likely outdated PPE. Over 600 of the state’s around 870 departments are volunteer-based.
“Indiana will always support its public safety personnel, who selflessly risk their lives to protect the communities in which they live,” Holcomb said in the release. “This plan will ensure that Hoosier firefighters have the skills and the equipment necessary to do their job safely and effectively.”