ATLANTA — There's a lot of ongoing controversy surrounding Atlanta's future public safety training facility to be built in Dekalb County.
The focus is usually on how police will use the facility, but Atlanta Fire and Rescue is also depending on the new amenities.
For now, Chief Rod Smith says they're leasing an outdated and rundown community building with classrooms.
"It is absolutely embarrassing for us to hire members to come in and say, 'You're going to work for the biggest. You're going to work for the best,'" Smith said, "And to bring them into somewhere like here."
Everyone who went inside had to put on a safety suit and a mask. The current facility was built in the 1950s. The conditions were deplorable, from the ceiling tiles barely holding on to the junk on the floor.
"We had recruits that were complaining of respiratory issues," Smith said. "We sent them to the doctor. And the doctor simply said, 'Do not enter the building again.'"
Smith says their other facility was built in the 1960s. Currently, there's nowhere to train drivers for their emergency vehicles. Because of how outdated the facilities are, Smith says it sends firefighters to places like Gwinnett and Douglasville to train.
Mike Mclaughlin is a captain with Atlanta Fire and Rescue and works with recruits.
"We can't really train in high-rises, because our high-rise building is condemned," McLaughlin said. "So, we have to find different ways to try to simulate that kind of training."
Atlanta is full of high rises now. Mclaughlin says every day, staff arrive at 6 a.m., spending an hour trying to figure out how to train 1,284 people. Smith says it has also been tough to recruit and keep firefighters. Currently, there are 224 vacancies.
Truman Oetting is also a captain at Atlanta Fire and Rescue.
"It's difficult," Oetting said. "We're always constantly looking for a new place to train to try to pull off what we're trying to do. So, we spend a lot more time on the planning side instead of the training side."
Smith said because firefighters work alongside police officers, the new facility will help them do their jobs better together.
"It will improve the services overall to the City of Atlanta -- allowing us to train more members, train them to a higher level, and making sure that they have the latest and greatest technology available to them," Smith said.
Smith says it takes 14 to 16 months to train staff. The hope is that the new facility will benefit recruitment with classrooms, modernized buildings, and physical space for hands-on training.