Montgomery County breaks ground on new burn building

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Va. – Construction will soon begin on a state-of-the-art burn building at the Montgomery County fire training facility -- an exciting milestone for county officials. 

"This is the sort of the pinnacle of all the training props," said Neal Turner, emergency services coordinator for Montgomery County.

On Monday, county officials and first responders officially broke ground on the building. It will have eight rooms, three of which are dedicated burn rooms. Firefighters call it a critical piece of the training puzzle.

"The burn building is very important because it gives a firefighter real life experience to go into a building and attack a fire under real conditions," said Keith Bolte, president of the Blacksburg Fire Department. 

Funding for the building was provided through a $480,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Fire Programs and help from the board of supervisors. While it is a major investment, officials say the training facility as a whole is crucial for first responders and the county. 

"It's in our home. It's ours so we have the opportunity for people to come anytime," said Turner. 

To learn more about the training facility and what's coming next, click here.