The newly opened Freddie E. Cook Training Center in Pembroke was put to use on Saturday as 44 firefighters from the Pembroke Fire Department, Bryan County Emergency Services and Bloomingdale Fire Department came together for training exercises with live fire situations.

The training was a success, according Pembroke Fire Chief Peter Waters.

“We did a settee, which is them learning how fire grows; an at-grade simulation, which is like a ground-level burn; a below-grade, which would be like a basement; and an above-grade burn, simulating a second-story fire,” he explained.

BCES had a class of 18 individuals on site to participate in their first live burn exercises. Having successfully completed their task, those responders are now eligible to test for Firefighter I certification.

BCES Division Chief Jason Blalock expressed his gratitude to Waters and the Pembroke Fire Deparment for the joint training opportunity.

“We actually had a burn building that we had burnt out, and we’re in the process of constructing our new one now,” he explained. “But since Pembroke’s had opened up, we were able and fortunate enough to use it.”

The newly opened Freddie E. Cook Training Center in Pembroke was put to use on Saturday as 44 firefighters from the Pembroke Fire Department, Bryan County Emergency Services and Bloomingdale Fire Department came together for training exercises with live fire situations.

The training was a success, according Pembroke Fire Chief Peter Waters.

“We did a settee, which is them learning how fire grows; an at-grade simulation, which is like a ground-level burn; a below-grade, which would be like a basement; and an above-grade burn, simulating a second-story fire,” he explained.

BCES had a class of 18 individuals on site to participate in their first live burn exercises. Having successfully completed their task, those responders are now eligible to test for Firefighter I certification.

BCES Division Chief Jason Blalock expressed his gratitude to Waters and the Pembroke Fire Deparment for the joint training opportunity.

“We actually had a burn building that we had burnt out, and we’re in the process of constructing our new one now,” he explained. “But since Pembroke’s had opened up, we were able and fortunate enough to use it.”