COLUMBIA, S.C. — Anyone who has taken a drive down Rosewood Drive in the past week has no doubt noticed fire trucks circling Midlands Tech's Beltline campus.
It turns out that the space is being used for specialized training for first responders.
Firetrucks with lights and sirens activated are usually a rare sight for anyone walking through the Midlands Tech's Beltline campus. But, for the past two weeks, they have been the norm.
At any point throughout the day, people might notice five or six firetrucks outside an old building along with dozens of firefighters.
Anthony Holloway, the chief of training for the Columbia-Richland Fire Department, said that over the course of two weeks, 15 different battalions have been using the building as a training ground.
"They'll be pressurizing staircases, they'll be hooking into the building, and pumping the building, and they'll also be doing large area search," he said.
He added that the training is handled through the department's acquired structure program where property owners and construction companies will lend buildings, typically during renovations or demolition. He said it offers some unique advantages.
"These larger commercial buildings have a lot of tactical priorities that are specific to their construction and very different to the residential fires we fight on a regular basis," Holloway said.
Kevin Floyd, the director of public information at Midlands Tech, said this isn't the first time the school has partnered with the fire department to use an old building.
He said the engineering tech building, which sits just off Rosewood Drive, is set to be demolished and turned into a green space for students. For now, he said training and construction are being staggered so that there is no disruption to students in class.
"Using an old building that would be going to waste, that would be knocked down, and using it for education? We're all about that," he said. "That was a heavy lift on the side of our academic and our corporate training side to make sure there was a space for every class while you're in a period of flux."
Anyone interested in donating a building to the acquired structure program can reach out to the Columbia Fire Department.