CAL FIRE opens its first Central Valley training facility in Atwater

ATWATER, Calif. (KFSN) -- Marching into a new era at a brand-new training facility.

CAL FIRE opened its fourth training complex in the state at the former Castle Air Force Base in Atwater on Monday. It's the first in Central California.

"Very exciting for the fire industry and for the training world to have something like this in this area," CAL FIRE Deputy Chief of Training Operations Justin Chaplain said.

The inaugural classes include recruits from all different backgrounds.

"As a fire captain with the Forest Service, I lateraled over as a fire captain with CAL FIRE," trainee Victor Guillen said. "I don't have any of the state certificates, so I had to go through all the training, so that's why I'm here right now."

The facility will provide the standardized training offered at the other three CAL FIRE training facilities in the state, preparing the firefighters for any situations they may encounter across California or wherever they are deployed.

"Over my 22 years with CAL FIRE, I have seen a remarkable change in our fire activity, our fire behavior and, really, what the fires are doing out there," Chaplain said. "To see the way our department has responded to the change of fire in the state and how we are preparing our entry-level employees, our firefighters and ensuring they're getting the absolute best industry-leading academy is a bit of a reward to see where our department's gone."

Training for local firefighters is already ongoing at the Merced County Fire Department Castle Training Center next door. Action News was there when the center received a silo nearly three years ago.

The site leaves plenty of room for expansions of both facilities.

"Being able to have facilities like this that can continue to grow and maintain that high level and excellence of training, it's absolutely crucial to what we're doing. With every building that goes in here and every new prop, and every new thing we can put out there is just a better way to keep up on training and training our people to that higher and higher excellence," Assistant Chief CAL FIRE Training Center Fire Control Support Nicole Gissell said.

This facility will welcome firefighters from all across the state.

If you're from the area, there's no guarantee you'll end up here, as CAL FIRE sends trainees to the various facilities.

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