Story by: Capt. Stephen Martin, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="The Kentucky Fire Commission and the Kentucky National Guard held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Fire Academy at Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center in Greenville, Ky. Apr. 13, 2012. The Fire Academy is one of only four officially certified for training by the Department of Defense. (photo by Capt. Stephen Martin, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs)"]
GREENVILLE, Ky. --Senior leaders of the Kentucky National Guard and the Kentucky Fire Commission gathered together to break ground on a Department of Defense certified Fire Academy on the Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center in Greenville, Ky. April 13.
To view all the photos from the event, please click HERE.
"We needed to build a Fire Academy within the state," said Ronnie Day, Kentucky Fire Commission Executive Director. "Who better to partner with than the Kentucky National Guard."
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="180" caption="The Kentucky Fire Commission and the Kentucky National Guard held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Fire Academy at Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center in Greenville, Ky. Apr. 13, 2012. (photo by Capt. Stephen Martin, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs)"]
Day also mentioned that state-wide rescue fire training was already being conducted on-site because of the partnership established and the great training resources available at WHFRTC.
To Read the Tristate Homepage's story by Zakk Gammon, Click HERE
Scheduled to open in December 2012, the Fire Academy will be a joint-use facility for both civilian and military firefighters and will help prepare the region, state and nation in 'world-class' first-responder training, according to Day.
The center will only be the 4th DoD-certified firefighting training center in the nation.
Brig. Gen. Mike Richie, commander of the Kentucky National Guard's Land Component Command, is excited about the partnership.
"The worst thing you can do in a disaster is to meet your partners for the first time at the scene of the incident," said Richie. "This center will enhance our relationship for first responder training like nothing else and take care of those we've been entrusted to watch over."