Fire training building planned as joint venture between Buckeye, New Phila Fire Department

NEW PHILADELPHIA — A fundraising effort is underway to build a live fire training facility to help prepare current and future Tuscarawas County firefighters. The project is a joint venture between Buckeye Career Center and the New Philadelphia Fire Department.

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The purpose of the project is to provide a safe and local burn building that would allow firefighters to complete their course training in Tuscarawas County.

“Currently, Buckeye provides several levels of training on the BCC campus, but level one and level two classes have to drive to the Wayne County Regional Training Facility to complete their certification requirements,” said Matt Tharp, assistant chief of the New Philadelphia Fire Department. “This costs time and money to both the students and Buckeye because no local confined training facility exists.”

The Wayne County facility is on the grounds of the former Apple Creek Developmental Center.

“When you set up a live burn in Wayne County, you’re paying for three of their instructors to be there, you’re paying for their use of their facility, and then you’re paying for materials that are being used to burn,” Tharp said.

The local burn facility would be located behind the New Philadelphia fire station, with the classroom learning still taking place at BCC.

“Ohio Revised Code tells us that in order to do live training, three trained firefighters and a fire truck must be on site during the use of a burn building,” said BCC Assistant Superintendent and Adult Education Director Frank Polen, “These reasons and several others are what make the NPFD the perfect place to construct this facility. Not to mention, the working relationship BCC has had with the city of New Philadelphia over the years. It just makes sense for both entities to partner on this worthwhile project.”

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The proposed burn building, a Sable System training facility made of three new freight containers, would be two stories high. It has nearly 2,000 square feet for training. It has a pitched roof, ventilation prop, a room search simulator and two burn rooms. One burn room is for class A materials, such as cloth, wood, paper, rubber and many plastics. The other burn room is for class B materials, like gasoline, alcohol, diesel or oil.

Tharp said the training facility will not cause a nuisance for the neighborhood because only white smoke will be emitted.

The cost of training materials will be paid by Buckeye classes, Tharp said. The fire department will pay for electricity.

Tharp said the advantage of the Sable System is that it can be moved. Stark County’s Plain and Canton townships already have Sable burn training facilities.

The cost, including the building, site preparation and incidentals, is $450,000. At this point, community contributions have reached $195,000. Retired business owner Brian W. Marsh of New Philadelphia is spearheading the fundraising effort.

“This training facility will not only serve BCC and NPFD, but the whole county,” Marsh said. “Having a local training facility will make it easier to do training for local firefighters.

“It helps get our volunteers and everybody in the county trained better. When there’s a major event, in Dover, New Phila, wherever it is, they all respond. And volunteers need to be as trained as they can to help support the major fire departments in battling a big blaze.

“Training facilities are very important to get that firefighter, as he comes out of school, prepared for what he’s going to encounter when he enters a burning building,” Marsh said.

Buckeye’s metal fabrication students will make a mock-up of a car, with a propane burner under the hood, that will allow firefighting students to practice handling car fires. New Philadelphia Fire Chief Jim Parrish said other Buckeye classes will help with the project.

Construction is projected to start in summer of 2023.

Anyone interested in making a tax-deductible donation may contact Marsh at 330-204-3179.

Marsh said he is confident the project will reach its fundraising goal because Tuscarawas County has many philanthropic people who are interested in seeing the community improve.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Buckeye Career Center, NPFD plan to get fire training building