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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – One might say everything Springfield Firefighters do is “on-the-job training”.
But one fire Wednesday was different, as crews got the chance to practice saving lives, putting out fires, ventilating fires, and other techniques, on three no-longer-used apartment buildings at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS).
“Everything on a fire ground in real life is very fast-paced,” said Julie Plunk, assistant fire chief. “On the training ground, we can slow down a bit, talk about things, explain why and how a little bit better. We have a lot of younger members on our department right now. So, for them to be able to get this training is very important.”
Plunk says in addition to Wednesday’s activity, crews will be on Sunflower Court the next several Wednesdays learning — October 21, and 28.
“It’s a very rare occasion when we’re able to train in live fire. It doesn’t happen very often,” said Plunk. “They’ll be training on extinguishment. We also have a dummy that’s set in there. They’ll go crawl in, they’ll do a rescue, a search, bring the victim out. We talk about ventilation and fire behavior as well.”
Officials from both UIS and Springfield Fire say the partnership — which started with the university asking Springfield Fire about their interest — is very beneficial. Firefighters get training, and UIS gets to save a few bucks on demolition.
After the heat
UIS says while the apartments were built in the 1980’s, there are much more modern apartments on campus, given that the needs and wants of students has changed.
But, the land won’t go unused for very long. Once demolition and firefighter training is complete, the Sunflower Court area will be the new home of a new major.
“We’re launching a Bachelor’s of Applied Engineering Technology (program), starting in the Fall of 2027,” said Blake Wood, director of university communications at UIS. “It’s going to be a hands-on degree in engineering technology. People who work in manufacturing, robotics, can take advantage of this new degree. It’s really responding to the workforce need. We found that in Central Illinois, these jobs are really needed.”
Construction on the new facility is expected to start in early 2027.
