Fire science and criminal justice degrees added this fall; plans unveiled for a model fire house
Marion Military Institute cut the ribbon Wednesday, Sept. 2, on two major additions to its First Responder Program: a fire training burn tower funded through an Alabama Community College System workforce development grant and a fire training pumper engine funded through a Delta Regional Authority Workforce Development Program grant.
The afternoon began with a reception in MMI’s special event room, where the school’s executive staff thanked partners and supporters representing the community college system, the Delta Regional Authority, the Alabama Fire College, the Alabama-Tombigbee Regional Commission, the Daniel Foundation of Alabama and the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, along with MMI trustees, state Sen. Robert Stewart and Marion Mayor Dexter Hinton.
“Our Fire and EMS program would not be where it is today without the firm and steadfast support of the Alabama Fire College along with financial support provided by the Alabama Community College System and our own MMI Foundation,” said Col. Ed Passmore, MMI’s senior vice president. “These organizations saw the value of what we planned to accomplish and invested time and resources over the last 10 years to make it a reality.”
Since the program began in the fall of 2016, close to 150 cadets have taken part, Passmore said, with many earning Firefighter I certification and basic and advanced EMT certifications, and a number of those graduates have gone on to serve their communities as professional firefighters.
After the indoor presentations, guests were shuttled to MMI’s First Responder Complex across Washington Street to dedicate the burn tower and fire engine. The burn tower gives cadets a controlled environment for realistic instruction in fire suppression, search and rescue, emergency response and other lifesaving skills, and the engine gives them hands-on experience in pump operations, hose deployment, water supply, apparatus management and emergency response procedures. MMI’s new rescue truck and two rescue boats were also on display.
The school said the grants strengthen workforce development, emergency preparedness and public safety in Alabama’s rural communities, and thanked the organizations for investing in first responder education in the region.
This fall the program added associate of applied science degrees in fire science and criminal justice. Architectural plans for a model fire house, designed by Barrett Kent Studio, were also unveiled as the next phase of expansion at the complex.
