FTCC will hold a hose uncoupling ceremony to open its Regional Fire & Rescue Training Center on Sept. 19, 2022. [Photo by Brad Losh]
Fayetteville Technical Community College will host a “Hose Uncoupling” ceremony and a Groundbreaking at 2 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 19, at the FTCC-Cumberland County Regional Fire & Rescue Training complex at 775 Tom Starling Road in Fayetteville.
The ceremonies are open to the public and faculty and staff are invited to attend.
The event will include two ceremonies:
At 2 p.m. in front of the apparatus bay doors: A Hose Uncoupling ceremony will mark the opening of the 24,000-square-foot Fire & Rescue Training Center, which anchors the training complex. A Hose Uncoupling is the firefighting version of a ribbon cutting. Instead of cutting a ribbon, dignitaries will uncouple short sections of a fire hose to mark the building’s grand opening. The building includes classrooms, offices, simulation labs, locker rooms and three fire apparatus bays. The first classes in the building will have begun that morning.
The Hose Uncoupling will be preceded by remarks by FTCC President Dr. J. Larry Keen and other dignitaries, including David Williford, Chairman of the FTCC Board of Trustees; Freddy Johnson Sr., President of the Cumberland County Fire Chiefs Association and Fire Chief at Stoney Point Fire Department; Cumberland County Commissioner Jimmy Keefe, who was the county’s Fire Commissioner from 2016-2020; Cumberland County Commissioner Glenn Adams, the current Chair of the Board of Commissioners; Amy Cannon, Cumberland County Manager; and Mike Causey, the North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance and State Fire Marshal.
Refreshments and tours of the building will follow the ceremony.
At 3 p.m. near the Memorial: A Groundbreaking will be held for the Swift Water Rescue Training Center. This specially equipped facility will house an 88,000-gallon tank with pumps that can blast water at a flow of up to 7 knots, allowing first responders and others to train year-round for water rescues in floods, swift-water situations and other water situations. The facility, expected to be completed by Spring 2023, will be the only indoor facility of its kind on the East Coast of the United States. This facility’s tank is by Fathom Tanks of Georgetown, Tex.
Background: The FTCC-Cumberland County Regional Fire & Rescue Training Center is part of a 30-acre complex that will provide state-of-the-art fire and rescue training programs for fire and emergency personnel from Cumberland County and beyond. In addition to the 24,000-square-foot training facility and the swift water rescue training facility, the complex will include:
- A technical rescue facility with a 4-story training tower (completed)
- A 4-story “burn building” where live burning exercises can be conducted (completed)
- Two additional burn buildings (Phase 2)
- An aircraft burn simulator (Phase 2)
- A rappelling tower with high zip line capability (Phase 2)
- An area for trench collapse training and other confined space training (completed)
- A memorial plaza (completed)
The total cost of the complex is estimated at $47 million. The funding includes $11 million in state bond funding provided to FTCC; $10 million from Cumberland County; and $20 million allocated for the project by the N.C. General Assembly in the biennium budget passed last fall.
Dr. Keen has said the project is due to the partnership and hard work of many, including Cumberland County’s legislative delegation, the county’s Board of Commissioners, the Cumberland County Fire Chiefs Association, the state community college system and FTCC’s Board of Trustees.
The Regional Fire & Rescue Training Center was designed by HH Architecture. Barnhill Contracting Co. is the project construction manager.
For information about FTCC’s Fire Training programs, please visit https://www.faytechcc.edu/corporate-continuing-education/career-community-enrichment/fire-training/ or contact program coordinator Steve Drew at drews@faytechcc.edu. For particular inquiries about the Swift Water Rescue Training Center, please visit https://www.faytechcc.edu/corporate-continuing-education/career-community-enrichment/fire-training/swift-water-inquiries/.
FTCC serves more than 28,000 students annually with over 280 occupational, technical, general education, college transfer and continuing education programs. For more information, please visit www.faytechcc.edu or call 910-678-8400.
