The new facility gives Effingham firefighters a place to practice real-world rescue and fire scenarios locally, rather than traveling to other cities for training

By Marie Adamick
Effingham Daily News

EFFINGHAM, Ill. — Effingham Fire Chief Brant Yochum introduced the city’s new fire training center on Friday afternoon with a ribbon cutting and open house.

Yochum thanked the community, elected officials and mutual-aid partners.

“This training center is more than just a building. It’s a commitment from this department to keep getting better every, single day,” said Yochum. “At the end of the day, that means safer firefighters and better service to this community.”

Before Friday’s grand opening, firefighters were sent to Marion, Swansea or Champaign for their training.

“Training is everything we do, and now we’ve got a place where we can train more realistically, more consistently and right here at home,” said Yochum.

The new facility allows firefighters to train in various scenarios, including a fire in an attic and balcony rescues.

Designs and plans for the new facility date back to before Yochum was with the Effingham Fire Department. However, there wasn’t enough funding until recently to build the new training center.

“It took about a whole year for us to get this completed, by the time we moved to the bid spec, figuring out exactly what we wanted included, going through it, getting the funding,” said Yochum. “Once they actually started building, it was about three-and-a-half weeks, and then they were done.”

Yochum also thanked Public Works Director Jeremy Heuerman, City Administrator Steve Miller, U.S. Rep. Mike Bost and more for their support.

“It’s about the community we’re here to protect. We are proud of what we’ve built here, and we’re excited about what it means going forward,” said Yochum. “This facility is a prize to our firefighters and to this community. And we’re going to keep training harder, sharpening our skills, and always be ready when you need us the most.”

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