Seminole Trail Volunteer Fire Department unveils new facility

ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) - The Seminole Trail Volunteer Fire Department has a brand new facility and they say it’s different than any in the area.

“Enabling that kind of consistent and local capability for our folks is going to be a game changer for us,” training officer, Robert Knight said.

Knight estimates the volunteers are there around 70,000 hours a year. He says that time can now be put to better use with a new training center. It’s waterproof and acts as a simulation for real house fires.

“Depending on what kind of learner you are, it can be really challenging to kind of grasp that and so this space offers us 99% of that experience,” Knight said.

The space is something the team has been working towards since 2014. It finally received enough grants and donations to fund the necessary tools.

“It’s long awaited,” Chief Dennis Hahn said. “This was a vision of a couple of us here at the department a few years ago, but being able to do this and actually seeing it is very rewarding.”

Hahn says the convenience of the location of this space will make the team more productive, ultimately benefitting the community.

He’s also hoping the new facility will lead to more volunteers.

“If it doesn’t help recruit, then it’ll at least help us retain because they’re able to acquire the training,” Hahn said. “The other volunteer departments don’t have this ability.”

If this new training center has you wanting to join the team, you can go to Join Us – Seminole Trail Volunteer Fire Department (stvfd.org) to learn more.

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