Due to the growth of the Rattlesnake Fire Protection District, a new training facility is being built to maintain the responsibilities of the district.

Groundbreaking on the 3,400-square foot building was Jan. 13 and members of the board of directors, fire chief Bryan Bowen and volunteer firefighters came out to support the future of the new building.

According to Jim White, president of the board of directors for Rattlesnake Fire Protection District, there are two main reasons the training facility, which will be at 46200 Coal Creek Drive, is needed.

The first reason is simply because the department has outgrown its quarters. Because of the growing amount of calls, the department responds to and the number of volunteers, the new building will easily accommodate the needs of the department.

“We don’t even have enough room to sit all of our volunteers in one room for training for example,” White said.

The second reason the building is necessary is to provide a meeting place for community events. White said the building will hold up to 60 people with tables and chairs available and can used free of charge by the public and organizations like homeowners’ associations and political meetings. White said eventually office space within the building will be used by a paid emergency medical technician, which will be up for discussion at the next board meeting.

White said the facility will also have all the training accessories needed for proper training sessions for the volunteers, and will be handicapped-accessible.

“The building will have a video projector with a big screen and a big television and now we won’t have to pull out trucks every time we need to hold a training or a meeting,” he said.

Overall, White is most excited about Rattlesnake Fire Protection District being able to improve its services to the community.

“This has been a long time coming and we are pleased that not only we can use the facility but the community can also benefit from it,” he said.