Washington County this week broke ground on a new, state-of-the-art public safety training center. County First Responders — including police, fire, and emergency services personnel — will train for increasingly complex emergency scenarios the $11.5 million facility.

“One large step in safety, for both our volunteers and the citizens they serve, is the availability of local training, County Administrator Rob Slocum said. “This day would not have happened without our volunteers and elected officials collectively pulling together for a local training facility.”

According to a press release:

“The new $11.5 Million-dollar training facility will be a first class resource for the men and women providing life safety services here in Washington County,” Slocum said.

Phase One of the project is scheduled to begin in November 2019, which will involve site work, utilities, and paving, ultimately laying the groundwork for the training center building. Phase two, anticipated to begin in the spring of 2020, will involve construction of an approximately 30,000 square foot training building that includes classrooms, offices, break room, weight room, locker rooms, and a multi-purpose room.