Final construction starts on first-responder training facility at Fayetteville Tech

The ultimate phase of construction is starting for a major training complex for first responders in Cumberland County.

Seasoned leaders in Cumberland County's Emergency Management say having this new training facility will be a major advantage for future firefighters and first responders.

"I am excited for them. This type of training was not around when I started back in the 70s," said Chief Freddy Johnson Sr. of the Stoney Point Fire Department.

Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC) says this is the last wave of construction at its 30-acre complex. Last year, it opened its Swift Water Training Facility at the site; the only one of its kind on the East Coast.

Several more training structures are coming to the construction site, including towers built to resemble apartment areas and staging areas for various fire scenarios. Officials say having training facilities like this is needed for Cumberland County's evolving population. Soon, aspiring emergency workers won't need to travel to other parts of the country for training facilities specializing in fire simulations.

"You don't have to go that far for training opportunity. So that not only attracts talent. It keeps our talent," says Hope Mills Mayor Jessie Bellflowers.

But officials also point out that the impact of Helene nearby in the western part of the state--and the dispatch of first responders in Cumberland County--underscores the importance of comprehensive rescue training facilities like the one to come.

"It just gives you an example of how important it is to have that kind of training," Johnson said.

"It's simply a situation where the better we do in training for the activities," said Dr. John Larry Keen, former FTCC president and the complex's namesake, "the better they're going to perform when they're under duress in the actual activities."

WATCH | Cumberland County opens Swift Water training facility

Fayetteville Tech Community College has just opened a state-of-the-art swift water rescue training facility.