Fayetteville Technical Community College announced today that they will receive a $34 million allocation from the state budget to be used for three major capital projects. 

“Our college and our community owe a great debt of gratitude to our legislative delegation for  their tireless efforts to enhance Cumberland County’s assets to serve our people,” said FTCC  President Dr. Larry Keen. “In my experience, I believe this is the best budget that Cumberland  County has ever received. It is a true testament to the wisdom, courage and tenacity  demonstrated by our legislative leaders to effectively represent us and our needs.” 

One such project is the FTCC-Cumberland County REgional Fire & Rescue Training Center, which is under its first stage of construction. Twenty million dollars over two years will go toward the project. So far, the in-progress and funded phase entails a 24,000 square-foot building, apparatus bays, simulation labs and offices, a technical rescue complex with a 4-story training tower, and a 3-story burn building for live burning exercises. 

Later phases will have specialized areas for hands-on training, simulated fire and rescue situations involving homes, commercial structures, trenches,  aircraft and wildlands.

Just last week, FTCC announced that the school will build a state-of-the-art swift water rescue training facility at the site, including an 88,000-gallon tank for floodwater rescue scenarios. Given previous incidents of flooding during hurricanes in the region, the site is expected to help emergency personnel by creating realistic simulations. 

Another $10 million will go toward the construction of a regional truck driving training center. 

The school also plans to use $4 million to transition an existing FTCC facility into a nursing school. 

The budget funding will also go toward pay raises of five percent over two years and bonuses for FTCC and staff, among other investments. 

Keen showed gratitude toward the county’s legislative delegation for the funding. “Thank you to Representative Billy Richardson, the current leader of the delegation, and to  Representatives John Szoka, Marvin Lucas and Diane Wheatley and to Senators Kirk deViere and Ben Clark,” Keen said. “Their collaboration, leadership, courage and devotion represented  all of us very well.” 

He also acknowledged that the budget funding will greatly benefit the region and the state. “The General Assembly did important work  this session for our county and our state,” Keen said. “We look forward to the continuation of  this kind of strong leadership and collaboration.”