Today, the City of Allentown held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Allentown Fire Academy that will be located directly behind Mack South Fire Station at 1902 Lehigh Street.

The Allentown Fire Academy trains individuals interested in a career as a firefighter.

The new facility will have five administrative offices, two fire academy offices, classroom space that can accommodate up to 100 individuals, and mixed storage space for classroom and hands on training equipment.

“We look forward to expanding and inviting other jurisdictions to participate in our Fire Academy already offered to our neighboring cities of Bethlehem and Easton,” said Fire Chief Freddie Agosto. “We’ve seen increased regional demand for our training services, which speaks volumes for our program. This will be a huge win for the entire City, as we also look to expand development and implementation of additional fire safety programs.”

The City plans to offer educational opportunities at the Fire Academy to residents and businesses, such as preparing emergency operations plans and general safety and health classes.

The building will also house the City’s first-ever Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

The space will be high-tech and provide real time information to the incident command team and offer quick support response and recovery operations during an emergency including weather events and public safety operations. The EOC can also support and assist Lehigh County Emergency Management during large scale events.

The project is underway thanks to federal and state support from Congresswoman Susan Wild and State Senator Pat Browne.

The new Fire Academy and EOC is anticipated to open February 2023.

 

Information provided to TVL by:
Genesis Ortega
Communications Manager
Office of the Mayor
http://www.AllentownPA.gov

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