DACULA - The Gwinnett County Department of Fire and Emergency Services announced earlier this week that a new educational building has been completed on the campus of their Fire Academy. The new building is part of the second phase of the department's Fire Academy expansion project.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony, emceed by Fire Chief Casey Snyder, was held to commemorate the completion on Tuesday, October 20th.
According to a release from Fire Captain Tommy Rutledge, the two-story building features eight training classrooms and administrative offices. The large-sized classrooms will be the site of "specialized training in EMT, paramedic, firefighting and career development."
The building, which replaces a single-story structure that was constructed in 1984, will include roughly 35,000-square-feet of educational and office space. Rutledge said the previous building measured only 8,525-square-feet.
The expansion project's first phase, which was completed in the spring of 2014, included a "heavy duty driving instruction pad and a block storage building with an observation deck for driving instructors."
Phase-II, as it is known to Gwinnett County officials, was initiated in late summer of that same year. It includes the educational building, as well as an "apparatus building and a large training pavilion." The release said the contracted builders have one year to complete the final stages of the second phase of the project.
Rutledge noted that officials plan to continue utilizing "the existing burn building and high-rise training tower already located on the campus."
The Phase-II expansion project, which is funded by the voter-approved 2009 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, has a total cost of $9,736,000.
The academy campus is located on 3608 Braselton Highway in Dacula.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2015/10/344987/gwinnett-takes-major-step-in-fire-academy-expansion-project