Washington Township Fire Department Proposes New Training Facility

Gary Dulin, Jerry Fletcher, Harold Welter, Mary Lynn Ritchie, Kirk Bennett, Nathan Marcum, Mike Yankauskas, Superintendent A.J. Gappa

Washington Township Trustee, Shelly Kemble, and Washington Township firefighters Joe Short and David Pearman made a presentation to the Knox Community School Board about building a training tower at the old Washington Township School. Superintendent, A.J. Gappa explains why they had to seek the permission of the Board to pursue this project:

“Because the land that the old Washington Township school sits on was at one time donated to the school and given back to the Township and because of the structure of the Indiana laws, before anybody can do anything with that property, they have to get School Board approval. It’s supposed to be in the form of Parks and Recreation.”

“They came to the Board with a request to build a fire department training tower on the ground that would be located behind the old bus garage. I believe at the next meeting we will have on the agenda to approve their request. This will not only help the Washington Township Fire Department but other fire departments from not only Starke County, but neighboring counties will be able to come and train their firemen so that they can offer a better product of safety to their neighborhoods and community.”