Jackson Police and Fire Services are taking advantage of a rare opportunity to train in a school building. Starting Wednesday Oct. 17, the Jackson Fire Department will work with the Summit Township Fire Department to train in and around Cascades Elementary School at 1200 S. Wisner St. in Jackson.
Cascades Elementary is a Jackson Public Schools building. It was closed earlier this year and is slated for demolition to make way for a new elementary school building. Firefighters say they are thankful the district has given them unfettered access to the building for training. “We don’t get many chances to use a large-scale building for training and practicing real life scenarios, so this will be very valuable training for us,” said Assistant Fire Chief Christopher Ermatinger.
Firefighters will start their training with wide area search and rescue operations. They will also conduct forcible entry training, HAZAMAT simulations, along with testing pumps and hoses for firefighting in large buildings. The training, which is scheduled through December, does not include any firefighting in the school. Assistant Chief Ermatinger says they do not anticipate the training causing any disruptions to nearby Frost Elementary School or the surrounding neighborhood. “We want neighbors to know that if they see a fire truck or emergency vehicles around the school over the next two months there is no reason to be alarmed,” Ermatinger said.
The Jackson Police Department will also be using the school for training. Those dates are still being scheduled. An active assailant training for local first responders is planned at the school later this year.