Fayetteville Tech Opens $46M Fire Training Complex After Six-Year Project

Fayetteville Technical Community College wrapped up a $46 million fire and emergency training complex on Wednesday. The Dr. J. Larry Keen Regional Fire and Emergency Training Complex brings live-burn training and rescue infrastructure for first responders across Cumberland County and eastern North Carolina.

The last phase brought residential, commercial, and multi-family burn structures to the Tom Starling Road site. Workers installed an airplane fuselage. Liquid petroleum burn areas went in. Fire investigation huts sprouted up across the 30-acre campus.

"This is phase three, which is the burn site that brought in burn capabilities, both residential, commercial, and multi-family burn centers, as well as an airplane fuselage and a liquid petroleum burn center," said Dr. Mark Sorrells, president of Fayetteville Technical Community College, according to ABC11. "We'll also have fire investigation huts."

Cumberland County donated 30 acres and kicked in $10 million. The state provided $20 million. The college found the rest through institutional sources.

The complex plugs a training gap for firefighters in the region. Volunteers had to drive to Gastonia before this opened. Sorrells said there was a two-year wait for that program.

Chief Freddy Johnson Sr., president of the Cumberland County Fire Chiefs Association, said the facility handles all fire certifications from Firefighter I through fire officer training. "This has been a long time coming," Johnson said. "I've been in the service going on 15 years, and we didn't have this when I started. Now our firefighters today and in the future can get state-of-the-art training right here in Fayetteville."

Cumberland County Commissioner Kirk DeViere said the investment creates a regional training hub that serves communities beyond Cumberland County. Earlier phases brought a 24,000-square-foot fire and rescue training building and a Swiftwater Rescue Training Facility.