Out with the old, in with the new. The Fire Department will hold a ceremonial groundbreaking for its new training center at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 19, at the training complex at 5501 Tinker Drive.

Fire Chief Shane Edwards, Mayor Lester Miller, Theron Usury with the SPLOST Advisory Committee, and Warren Selby are all scheduled to speak. The event will be live-streamed on the Macon-Bibb Fire Department Facebook page. Media members are invited to attend and conduct interviews.

On May 4, the Fire Department held a Final Burn, where the beginning of the demolition started. You can watch a video about it here. Then on May 11, construction crews completed the demolition of the 38-year-old structure. 

“It was bittersweet to see the center that we had used for more than 30 years demolished and removed from the property, but this also means that it’s the beginning of something new,” said Chief Shane Edwards. “We are so excited to see this new training center will do for our Class 1 firefighters and firefighters across the state who will come here to train as well.”

The Charles A. Smallwood Training Center was built in 1984 by Macon-Bibb firefighters. It was used for more than 30 years to train thousands of firefighters. The new training facility is set to open by the end of the year. The $2.8 million center is going to be funded by voter-approved Special Local Options Sales Tax (SPLOST) dollars.