Hayward, Chabot-Las Positas College District open new Regional Fire Training Center and firehouse
June 21, 2023
HAYWARD, Calif., June 21, 2023—The City of Hayward and Chabot-Las Positas Community College District celebrate today the opening of a new campus dedicated to fire, rescue and emergency response training and education.
Made up of a new Hayward Fire Training Center and Fire Station 6, the campus consists of classrooms and offices, a new training tower and other facilities for practicing urban search, rescue and emergency response, including a passenger jet, an old bus donated by the Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC) and a decommissioned Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train car and elevated trackway.
It will serve as the new home of the Chabot College Fire Academy, a base of operations for firefighter and paramedic response on the City’s industry-rich westside and a state-of-the-art facility for continuing education and learning for members of the fire service locally, regionally and beyond.
Additionally, the Center will host Eden Area Regional Occupational Program (ROP) educators and students, providing a laboratory for hands-on training as well as opportunities for career-oriented mentor relationships with Hayward firefighter-paramedics for high school-age youth.
And the presence of a steel beam harvested from the wreckage of the fallen World Trade Center towers, donated to the Hayward Fire Department and installed at the entrance of apparatus Building 2 will symbolize and make tangible the Center’s purpose and spirit.
The new $82 million campus was constructed on the grounds of Hayward Executive Airport with funding from Hayward Measure C sales tax revenue and Chabot-Las Positas Community College District Measure A facility bond proceeds.
As such, the project also is an example of how public agencies with overlapping missions can strategically pool resources for greater good—in this case, creating a new education-to-career pathway for local youth while putting Hayward and Chabot College on the forefront of firefighter training and education in California and producing the state and nation’s next generation of first of responders.
Ahead of a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Center and Fire Station 6, Hayward Mayor Mark Salinas praised the partnership with Chabot-Las Positas Community College District that has made the project possible.
“As an Education City, The City, the Fire Chief, and the College District jumped at this opportunity to combine vision, resources and talent to create education-to-career pathways while simultaneously focusing on recruiting, hiring and training the best firefighters in the region,” Mayor Salinas said. “I can’t imagine a better example of an Education City at work than the new Hayward Fire Training Center and Fire Station No. 6.”
Chabot College President Dr. Susan Sperling said the project ensures the future of the Chabot College Fire Academy and illustrates the central role community colleges can play in producing the first responders of tomorrow.
“Chabot College is proud to be a statewide leader in the training and development of fire service professionals,” Dr. Sperling said. “Our strong partnership with the City of Hayward and the development of this one-of-a-kind training facility allows us to educate a diverse student population and meet the future workforce needs of our community.”
At a time when firefighting resources are being stretched thin statewide and nationally, Hayward Fire Chief Garrett Contreras said the Center will help create our next generation of firefighters while also serving to bolster and advance the fire service today, locally, regionally, across California and the country.
“Firefighters and firefighter-paramedics are being called on to respond to incidents, events and circumstances that are new to us in scale, stakes and complexity—from wildlands to our urban centers and everywhere in between,” Chief Contreras said. “We now have a place where we can come together to train and share ideas and best practices to meet these challenges both now and for years and decades to come.”
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