Holcomb Announces Construction of 5 New Firefighter Training Sites to Address “Training Deserts”

PAOLI, Ind. — Finding volunteers to join local fire departments across the state has increasingly become a statewide challenge in recent years.

Several fire chiefs said part of the problem is a lack of adequate training facilities. This week, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced that five new firefighter training sites would be built across the state. The move is part of a nearly $20 million initiative to build nine new training sites and provide PPE to volunteer firefighters.

“It’s a huge, huge thing for the fire department,” said Mark Jones, fire chief for the Paoli Volunteer Fire Department.

Paoli is now one of five Indiana cities and townships that learned this week that they are going to get their own firefighter training site — which Jones said removes a significant barrier for Hoosiers wanting to volunteer .

“When they pass their state certification written exam, they have to take a practical exam, which involves a live burn, and those facilities are rare in the state, especially in rural areas,” Jones said.

Jones said many rural firefighters have been forced to travel more than an hour to these types of training sites, something he is confident this initiative will change.​

“We have these sites 30 miles apart,” Jones said. “They won’t have to drive as far to get that live burn certification.”

Jones said the ultimate goal of the initiative is to get recruiting and retention numbers back to where they need to be.

“Our numbers here in Paoli over the years have been good, but over the last five or six years a lot of our younger members have had to work out of town, so our availability during the day is very, very limited. , which is dangerous,” Jones said. “The hope is that this is an ingredient that, you know, maybe, maybe it will boost morale a little bit.”

Jones said that while an official timeline has not yet been announced, he anticipates all five new centers will be completed by summer 2025.