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If you’ve traveled between N.C. Highway 740 and the Stanly County Airport recently, you’ve no doubt seen considerable grading and earth moving along the north side of Airport Road, as crews from Barnhill Construction work on the first phase of the North Carolina Emergency Training Center.
According to State Fire Marshal Brian Taylor, the facility’s benefits will extend well beyond the borders of its Stanly County location.
“Before now, North Carolina has never had a state emergency training facility, and we’ve had to send our people out of state to get them trained,” Taylor said, noting that expenses to do so are significant.
Consequently, the state’s emergency personnel often missed out on advanced or specialized training.
Being located centrally within the state, the facility will bring such training opportunities closer to home, Taylor says.
“The center will offer instruction in such critical areas as swift water rescue, aircraft firefighting, urban search and rescue, hazardous materials training (HAZMAT), and fire investigation,” he said. “And, by partnering with the NC Air National Guard, Stanly County and Stanly Community College, we are able to locate it adjacent to the Stanly County Airport and provide some shared space as well.”
The county’s middle-of-the-state location is not the only reason Taylor believes Stanly is the optimal place in North Carolina for the facility’s training purposes.
“Just look around us…we have our rivers, we have the Uwharrie National Forest, we are located at the Stanly County Airport,” he observed, noting how each element can be used for experiential training within the areas of water rescue, search and recovery and firefighting.
The shared space will enable relocation of Stanly County’s 911 Communications Center from its current site in the county courthouse, with warehouse space also to be split among the entities using the facility. And, through the partnership, planning and construction expenses have also been shared, making for efficient use of available funds.
“Stanly County already owns the property,” Taylor noted, “and, as part of the partnership, was able to provide funding for the design-build portion of the project.”

A total of $87 million in state funds have been appropriated for land acquisition and construction of both phases, and the Office of the State Fire Marshal will maintain the facility’s operating budget once construction is complete and operations begin.
“We plan to offset some of the operating costs through user fees from outside groups who use the facility for training,” said Taylor, adding that costs to train emergency management personnel from North Carolina municipalities and counties are planned to be made available at little to no cost.
Although the construction is only in its initial phase, several training structures are already taking shape, including the beginnings of the swift water rescue training area.
“Following Hurricanes Matthew and Florence, many local emergency management agencies applied for and received grant funding to purchase boats, but the associated training was more difficult to arrange,“ noted Taylor. “More recent flooding, particularly that from Helene, has really shown the need for local agencies to get training in swift water rescue.”
Also beginning to take shape as part of the facility’s first phase are an aircraft rescue training structure, a classroom building and an open area that will be utilized for HAZMAT and vehicle rescue training.

The second phase of the facility, projected to be completed by January 2027, will be constructed on the south side of Airport Road at the land parcel currently occupied by the City of Albemarle Prime Power Park, just west of the airport terminal’s entrance.
“That facility will include the Stanly County Emergency Management and 911 centers and the shared warehouse space, as well as dormitory and cafeteria space for up to 120 trainees,” Taylor said. “An adjacent area will also include a burn village which will be used to simulate manufactured housing, one- and two-story residential fires and natural gas fires.”
In addition to bringing trainees to Stanly County, the facility is projected to create nine new jobs for those staffing the facility.
“That figure doesn’t count the part-time and contracted instructors that will be involved in the instruction and training courses to be offered,” Taylor said.
With construction well underway and funding in place, Stanly County stands to house “the most advanced specialized emergency training facility in the country,” according to information provided by the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
“I’m just thankful for the partnership coming together,” said Taylor. “With Stanly County, the Air National Guard, the NC Community College system and the support of the legislature, we will be able to make sure that communities have trained emergency responders ready in times of disaster.”
For more information on the North Carolina Emergency Training Center, go to https://www.ncosfm.gov/nc-emergency-training-center-etc.

Toby Thorpe is a freelance writer for The Stanly News & Press.