Published: May 12, 2007

WURTLAND — Within a few months, Greenup County firefighters will have a place nearby where they can go to train.

Members of the Greenup County Firefighters Association, along with state and local officials, gathered Friday at the Wurtland Volunteer Fire Department to break ceremonial ground for a new fire training facility.

“This is an exceptional day for every single property owner in Greenup County,” said state Rep. Tanya Pullin, D-South Shore. “This is going to make the people who protect them better-trained to protect them.”

The facility, which will include a three-story training tower and a “burn room” that will be used to provide firefighters with live-fire experience, will be used by 12 different departments — Flatwoods, Firebrick, Greenup, Little Sandy, Lloyd, Load, Maloneton, Oldtown, Russell, Raceland, South Shore and Worthington.

The project is being funded by a $200,000 grant from the Kentucky Fire Commission.

In years past, a training center such as the one being built at Wurtland would have been considered a luxury, said Ronnie Day, the commission’s executive director.

“But now, with all the regulations being handed down at the federal and state levels, this is a necessity,” he said. “It’s hard to expect firefighters to go elsewhere for training and leave their communities unprotected.”

The Greenup County firefighter training facility will be third of its kind in the region. The Ashland Fire Department has one, as does the Cannonsburg Volunteer Fire Department.

“We do feel like this is going to be a big plus for Greenup County and for all the firefighters in it,” said Wurtland Fire Chief Steve Warrick, president of the county firefighters association.

The training facility will be the second major fire installation to be constructed in Wurtland in less than a year. The department just moved into a new station this past December.

And, there may be more yet to come. Jack Steele, who headed the local committee that applied for the grant funds, said he hoped to eventually see some classrooms and other additions built at the training center.

“This is just the first step,” he said.

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.