Polk County officials have set aside $14.5 million dollars to construct a fire training facility after shortcomings in their current facility were highlighted in a consultant’s report.
After a controversial house fire in 2018 that claimed the life of Loretta Pickard, a consultant was hired to review and assess the needs of Polk County Fire Rescue.
Polk County Commissioner Dr. Martha Santiago, after seeing photos of the current training facility said, "I was embarrassed, this is what we give our firefighters to prepare them for probably the most dangerous job? Saving lives?" according to Fox13News.
While Polk Fire Rescue Chief Robert Weech is proud of the training accomplishments of the department, he says a new state-of-the-art facility would greatly enhance firefighter training.
The facility is expected to be completed within a few years.
