Commission wants regional fire academy in county
Anderson County is looking to host a regional fire academy, training firefighting volunteers at no cost to them.
The County Commission unanimously voted to support this project at its Nov. 18 meeting. It would be a collaboration with the state of Tennessee.
A draft letter in the Nov. 18 commission agenda said the state may provide funding from the Volunteer Educational Incentive Program and Equipment grants to cover construction and staffing, while the county provides the land and utilities.
County Commissioner Tracy Wandell stated in an email that Mayor Terry Frank was working on drafting the letter, which will next go to Operations Committee for approval.
“It would be a long shot to get another fire academy located in the Rocky Top area but it sure is worth a discussion,” he said.
Currently people from volunteer fire departments in Anderson County go to a campus in Middle Tennessee for training.
Wandell said the new academy would serve to train all the firefighting volunteers across East Tennessee, allowing them to do it more easily. He said another academy in West Tennessee would also help. He added that the training academy would provide jobs in the county.
“We’re blessed to have our volunteer firefighters; thank every one of them when you can,” Wandell said.
Wandell made the motion to send the letter, and Commissioner Ebony Capshaw seconded
Wandell said at the same meeting that he might like to see a decrease in the property taxes that volunteer firefighters pay if they meet certain criteria, but that idea did not come up for a vote.
He also expressed concern that the Medford Volunteer Fire Department is not presently taking first-responder calls due to lack of personnel.
“We’re going to work together to get things moving in the right direction,” he said.
He suggested working with the school system to get more volunteers.
Despite that, Wandell told the commission that the state had praised the county for its emergency response.
He called on people over 18 to reach out to their local volunteer fire and rescue squads about volunteering.
“We need people, and it’s a great way to get training and a great way to get into a career,” he said, adding that some people who train as volunteer firefighters end up working with those skills for the Department of Energy.
“It’s a great way to get that education underneath you and a great way to give back to the community and our great county,” he said.
Wandell said if the county didn’t have volunteer fire departments it might have to spend $24 million on a professional one.
