Anniston, AL – On the morning of the 6th of March, 2023. Anniston Fire Department Anniston Fire Department has been proud to host an event to cut the ribbon to celebrate the successful completion of the Anniston Regional Training Center expansion. In the presence of the Mayor and members of the Anniston City Council, Assistant Chief Phelps and Fire Fighters and Command Staff Chief Jeffrey Waldrep spoke to the huge crowd that gathered to view the brand new building. Chief Waldrep expressed his gratitude to everyone from within his department as well as outside, for their assistance and assistance during this huge task. The chief also said that the new facility will be used by future and current firefighters to improve their the field of training as well as education.
Anniston’s Mayor Draper was then on the podium and spoke of his delight in the new facility for training and the potential it holds for the firefighters in the community as well as what it could mean for the community at the economic front. Mayor Draper talked about the necessity of maintaining development within Anniston’s city Anniston and the need to continue to grow. Mayor Draper also expressed how thrilled that he is over the fire training facility that will be accessible to all across Alabama and across the United States.
Chief Waldrep Mayor Draper, and the City Council then lined up to cut the ribbon in a formal ceremony. After Chief Waldrep used the ceremony scissors and cut the ribbon, everyone was invited inside to explore the new facilities.
The Calhoun Journal spoke with Chief Waldrep to talk about some of the plans to be implemented to expand the training center. He said that they’ve set up 35 certificates for courses and is thrilled that they’re now able to open classes to more students due to of the room size read the this article’s original article for the sizethe size of the classroom]. “We had to pull students away from classes because they were filled rapidly However, there is now more space to give students.” said Chief Waldrep. In addition, the Chief is pleased to announce that the school will be offering the “Hands on Electrical Fire” class together with an instructor from the National Fire Arson Investigation Institute. Arson Investigator Chief Jason Brown and the assistant fire marshals will attend the class too.”
The Chief then explained that the school will be expanding to provide classes to other those who aren’t firefighters. “We will offer courses that are available to other professions like codes enforcement.” He believes that this will help close one or two gaps that exist between the different occupations that jobs often overlap.
The Chief believes the Anniston Regional Training Center is effective due to the numerous relationships they have with different institutions of higher education and special groups. The alliances allow the center to provide an array of classes than they could the center could have if it were working by themselves.
