Aiken County Breaks Ground on Fire Training Center To Replace Decades-Old Facility

Aiken County held a groundbreaking ceremony on Feb. 6 for the first phase of construction on a new Fire Training Center on Gun Range Road near Aiken. Government officials and fire chiefs from across the area attended the event marking the beginning of work on the $3 million initial phase.

Phase 1 will use money collected from Capital Project Sales Tax IV plus earned interest. The initial work includes constructing a fire training tower, a parking lot, and basic infrastructure for the property.

SD Clifton Construction will handle the construction work. AECOM provided the architectural services for the project.

A fire training tower is a metal structure that can be reused multiple times. Natural gas can fuel the fires in the tower, allowing firefighters to practice putting them out with different techniques and from different angles.

Phase 2 plans call for an indoor classroom, an outdoor classroom, a paved driver training area, a burn box, and other amenities. The county and the City of Aiken have set aside $2.5 million each from Capital Project Sales Tax V proceeds to fund the second phase.

The new location will replace the facility owned and operated by the City of Aiken for more than 30 years. The city has allowed firefighters from departments outside its jurisdiction to train at the old site.

Mike Kellems serves as New Ellenton Fire Department chief and sits on the County Council. He thanked the city for its past generosity. The new center will give volunteer fire departments a true home for their training needs, Kellems said.

Sanders and other county officials believe the center will rank among the top fire training facilities in South Carolina when completed.