In the coming

years, Peachtree City will piece together a fire training center so it

won't have to send firefighters away to state facilities at Forsyth to

practice firefighting and rescue techniques.

The first piece

of the puzzle will be a smoke and burn building that will allow career

and volunteer firefighters to train as a team, Fire Chief Stony Lohr told

the City Council at its annual retreat Friday.

That way, firefighters

will have a place "where we can get used to going in on smoke and

fire," Lohr said.

"This

structure is a much needed facility," Lohr said, explaining that

the department currently uses Fayette County's smoke and burn building

but preparations, travel time and breaking the equipment down cuts into

the actual amount of training time.

"Getting

everybody together to work as a team is a sincere challenge," Lohr

said.

The training

center will be located on property adjacent to the new Leach Fire Station

near the intersection of Ga. Highway 74 and Paschall Road.

The smoke and

burn building, which is slated to be complete in August or September,

will only be the start of the training center, Lohr said. Other components

planned for the future include a training tower to practice high-rise

rescues, a maze for firefighters to practice using breathing apparatus

in a smoky environment, and a confined space structure to practice rescues

in cramped quarters.

The training

facility will also include a paved pad to practice vehicle extrications

and a device to test water pumps on fire engines, which is currently done

in Clayton County.

Lohr said the

idea is to train the city's firefighters to national standards. The chief

was open to allowing other agencies to train at the new facilities, but

only after the city's needs were met first.