Building donated to Lexington Fire Department for special training

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Lexington-based development company Cowgill is set to tear down a commercial space off South Broadway to make way for a new apartment complex.

Before that happens, the owners donated the defunct space along Legion Drive to the Lexington Fire Department to support the work of first responders.

Chief of Training Jordan Saas says it’s an opportunity for all of his crews to go back to basics.

“They’re our bread and butter. It’s hose advancement and deployment. It’s gonna be vertical ventilation. We can practice forcible entry,” said Saas.

As they progress through these weeks, he says they will move on to the more advanced exercises.

Chief Saas says they can try to recreate things at the training academy, but moving through a real-life building presents them with a unique opportunity that would otherwise be too costly.

“We can damage walls. We can breach the ceilings. We can breach floors if we have to. We can practice techniques that it’s hard to replicate on the training ground,” said Saas.

Chief Saas says fire crews will continually rotate in and out of the facility on two-hour shifts through Friday, April 7. He says their goal is to give each of their hundreds of firefighters a realistic training opportunity that doesn’t come very often.

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