$3M State-Of-The-Art Training Area Featuring Apartment Scenarios Slated For Suffolk's Fire Academy In Yaphank

YAPHANK, NY — Construction is underway on a $3 million live-fire training structure, featuring a new area with garden apartments, for the county's firefighters at the Suffolk County Fire Academy in Yaphank, Executive Ed Romaine said.

The fire academy is where all of the county's 109 fire districts train.

The capital project is “an essential training structure” to help with fire service training and increase response times at multi-family housing facilities throughout the county, according to officials.

Once completed, the garden apartment building will be 8,320 square feet with eight live-burn rooms across two floors. It will have 34 rooms in total, plus the area of the flat roof, and will be accessible from all four sides, officials said.

Volunteers from Suffolk's fire districts will use the training structure, with trainers able "to mix and match assets of the building for countless scenarios,” according to officials.

Construction is expected to be finished by 2027.

The news comes as the county undergoes a building boom, with housing developments slated for areas like Patchogue and Mastic Beach, and elsewhere.

Romaine said that the “state-of-the-art facility” will be used to simulate various scenarios ranging from apartments, multi-family residences, and even industrial settings and motels.

“Existing live-fire training structures focus on single-family and commercial designs, so this will be a great asset to new recruits and seasoned fire service members alike,” he added.