State awards Carbon $158K for multiuse fire training facility project

Carbon County’s proposed multipurpose fire training facility in Nesquehoning is moving forward.

On Tuesday, state Sen. John Yudichak, D-Carbon, and state Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, announced that the county will receive $158,338 through the Monroe County Local Share Account grants for part of the estimated $10 million project, which includes the completion of the emergency operations training center. The county had applied for $500,000 for the project.

“The state’s investment today ensures that Carbon County continues to develop and progress toward a brighter future,” Yudichak said.

The announcement is part of seven projects that received a total of $624,338 from the LSA grants throughout the county.

“The Carbon County Board of Commissioners and emergency responders of Carbon County are very thankful for the LSA grant award for our training facility,” Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said. Nothstein has been a driving force in the project and is a volunteer firefighter.

“In a time when volunteerism is in a crisis, training is essential to the safety of not only our volunteers and first responders, but all our residents and the property they protect,” he said.

Carbon County has already started the first phase of the project, which was proposed in 2015. Officials awarded the Emergency Lane widening phase to Bruce George Paving in June after the company submitted the low bid of $811,869.85.

Work was supposed to begin last summer, but the wet summer delayed the project until December.

Crews are now working to widen the road from 11 feet to 22 feet. Phase 1A is expected to be completed by May 31.

Last month, the commissioners applied for extensions on nearly a million in state grants that the county has already secured for the project.

The facility, once completed, will provide fire departments with live fire training sites, a drill tower and other training necessities, as well as give police, county departments and EMS classroom and training options that normally are completed in other counties.

It will be located on the grounds surrounding the Emergency Management Agency/911 Communications Center.