The Gerald-Rosebud Fire Protection District (GRFPD) has been planning the construction of a training facility in the district. Those plans are now becoming a reality.

The facility is being built just south of Station 3 in Rosebud.

The training site will be a feather in the cap of the fire district, allowing not just members of their department, but those of surrounding departments to train close to home.

“Our focus and commitment is to providing the best service possible to our community,” says Deputy Chief Jordan Lottmann. He notes the training provided by the site will ultimately proved a better service to our community.

ISO ratings are scores given to fire departments and insurance companies by the Insurance Services Office. These scores reflect how prepared a community is for fires. Lottmann adds that when assigning an ISO score points are given for having an actual training site in the department. The better the ISO score, the better the rate of homeowners’ insurance.

While work has begun, it may take a couple of years to complete the entire vision of the training site. Despite that, the site will be able to be used for some training before it is entirely completed.

Eventually, a variety of structures will be built on the site to allow for training in a multitude of situations.

Most, if not all, of the labor needed will be donated by department members or members of the community.

One department member has already excavated the site free of charge.

Lottmann adds, “Without the donated work, and community supported tax increase, this would not have been possible.”