LA VERGNE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A new fire and rescue training center just opened its doors for one city in Rutherford County.

While final touches are still being put on the facility, firefighters are being put in real-life rescue scenarios to be prepared for anything.

This is the first fire training facility La Vergne has ever had.

La Vergne officials said it's a plan they've been working on for years, and the department is taking pride in it because it was designed, drawn and built by their very own firefighters.

The facility will be used for training new firefighters along with current ones. It will provide hands-on training environments, rescue scenarios, driver/operator courses, live-fire evolutions, and more to improve their skills and get them ready for real-world fire emergencies.

Leaders said having a facility dedicated to training will provide their staff with advanced credentialing and will reduce the reliance on other outside venues.

"It'll be an opportunity for us to love and create new methods of firefighting and rescue and putting ladders on buildings," La Vergne Fire Chief Ronny Beasley said. "There's a lot of opportunities there that the city has never had."

Beasley said the facility will help them meet national benchmarks and all this training will ensure a safe future for La Vergne.

"This is an opportunity for us to get real-life fire training exercises, so when that situation does arise, we can go into operational mode making rescues extinguish fires; we should be able to do that very effectively," he said.

Beasley said eventually the training facility will expand to multi-agency drills, fire officer development programs and future live-fire training.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/middle-tn-neighborhood-news/la-vergne-opens-first-fire-rescue-training-center/