Johns Creek firefighters will train in Cherokee County under a facility use agreement approved by the City Council.
A “burn building” in Forsyth County is out of service, and another in Dawson County is 28 miles away, while a recently finished facility in Cherokee County is 25 miles away, Johns Creek Fire Chief Chris Coons said in an agenda report.
Live fire training is important to hone such fire-fighting skills as search and rescue, fire attack, hose advancement, victim evacuation and rescue of downed firefighters, “conducted with near-real-life conditions that a firefighter will face during a structure fire incident,” Coons said. “The newly constructed burn building in Cherokee County is state of the art and allows for a wider variety of training scenarios.”
The minimum fee for use of the Cherokee County Fire Training Complex in Holly Springs is $300 for up to four hours of training, according to the facility agreement. Coons estimated the city would spend $4,800 to $5,600 a year in Cherokee County, compared with about $5,000 in Dawson.
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