Decorah Volunteer Fire Department receives another large donation for its firefighters training center

The proposed firefighter training center on Old Stage Road in Freeport is moving closer and closer to reality with another large donation being given to the Decorah Volunteer Fire Department by Farm Credit Services.

The Decorah office of Farm Credit Services of America has just given the Decorah Fire Department $10,000 for the training facility. Decorah Fire Chief Mike Ashbacher says Farm Credit Services has been instrumental in the past in providing the fire department with funds for grain firefighting training.  The plans call for the construction of a full-size grain bin at the training facility, to help firefighters from around the region learn the techniques necessary in fighting such fires.

Ashbacher tells decorahnews.com the project is moving along nicely.  Work on the site has already begun.  In addition to a three-story structure for house fire training and the full-size grain bin, the facility will include a hunter's tree stand, a trench structure and more. If all goes as planned, the facility could be available for training by the fall

The Decorah Volunteer Fire Department which manage the training facility and make it available to firefighters operating under mutual aid agreements in Winneshiek County and nearby counties. Firefighters will be able to train in simulated fire conditions.

"The Decorah Fire Department's leadership in advancing firefighter training makes our communities safer," said FCSAmerica's Northeast Iowa region vice president Julie Hoodjer.