texas

Plano Fire-Rescue Hope For New Training Facility

Currently, Plano firefighters must travel to Richardson for their training.

In May of 2017, Plano voters will see a ballot with a $15 million bond referendum for a new training facility for Plano Fire-Rescue.

โ€œWe are required by the state fire commission to actually do live burns and we have no ability to do live burns in Plano,โ€ Chief Sam Grief said. โ€œWe have to go outside the city for that.โ€

Currently, Plano firefighters must travel to Richardson for their training.

"That's a long way from here. That can be 45 [to] 50 minutes easy one way,โ€ Greif said. โ€œWe just can't spare sending our units out of the city for that length of time."

โ€œYou canโ€™t send three or four of your primary units out of the city and then when something happens they are not close to home,โ€ Greif added.

Greif said that Plano is growing quickly and their call volume grows with the rising population.

"In 2015, we ran 25,000 calls which was a 10 percent increase in just one year,โ€ Greif explained. โ€œThis year, in 2016, we will beat that record."

โ€œI would be pretty comfortable in saying we are the largest city in the state of Texas that doesnโ€™t have a dedicated training center for the fire department,โ€ Greif added.

Fire officials said there are also challenges in the changing landscape of Plano.

"We're getting high-rise buildings,โ€ Greif said. โ€œThat has its own unique challenges when it comes to everything from rescuing window washers on the side of the building to how you fight fires in a high-rise."

Greif said the facility would also help the first responders train for major traffic accidents and large-scale situations. He said it would not only help keep firefighters safe, but also help them better save lives and property.

โ€œWe have to train the way we are actually going to do the event which is multiple companies coming together for a training evolution,โ€ Greif said.

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