Fayetteville college reveals only swift water rescue indoor facility on East Coast

Memories of flooding from Hurricanes Matthew and Florence were invoked Monday during the reveal of a new training facility for swift water rescue.

Fayetteville Technical Community College’s Swift Water Rescue Training Facility is complete and ready for first responders, officials said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the facility.

The facility is the only indoor swift water rescue facility on the East Coast and is expected to train first responders in Cumberland County, the state, the local Federal Emergency Management Agency region “and beyond,” FTCC President Mark Sorrells said.

“It’s almost impossible to prepare for every possible situation, but as one of our instructors said, ‘The more training scenarios that emergency responders are exposed to, the more likely that the situation will end up with a positive outcome for the first responders and the victims,’” Sorrells said.

Facility costs, hurricanes and conversations

About two years ago, former FTCC President Larry Keene and Cumberland County representatives traveled to Texas to view a similar facility built by Fathom Tanks to simulate floodwater conditions for first responders, Sorrells said.

At the time, Sorrells said, FTCC was in the process of constructing its planned $40 million emergency rescue training complex on 30 acres of land donated by Cumberland County.

FTCC’s Board announced in November 2021 that the swift water rescue center was a second phase for the three-phase complex, Sorrells said.

FTCC plans indoor swift water rescue training facility in Cumberland County

Sorrells said Cumberland County Commissioners approved providing $10 million toward the facility in addition to donating the land, while the North Carolina General Assembly has also provided state infrastructure funds for the complex.

Toni Stewart, chairwoman of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners, said commissioners saw the need for the facility during Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018.

Commissioner Jimmy Keefe said that during Hurricane Matthew, there were 150 water rescues in Cumberland County.

PHOTOS: Hundreds rescued from Hurricane Matthew floodwaters, Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016

During that hurricane, Keefe said, he had a conversation with fellow Commissioner Glenn Adams in the county’s emergency operations center.

“I said, ‘Glenn nobody’s going to blame us for the hurricane. They’re going to appreciate the rescue, but we’re going to be judged on the response, and how are we going to respond to things,’ and I think that you can see before you this is one of the responses,” Keefe said.

“We learned that we need to be prepared, not for if, but when these types of events happen in the future,” Stewart said.

What the facility can do

The facility is equipped with an 80-foot by 40-foot tank that is 6-feet deep and holds 120,000-gallons of water that 10 pumps can push out swiftly, Sorrells said.

During Monday’s facility reveal, Fire Chief Freddy Johnson Sr, president of the Cumberland County Fire Chiefs Association, said FTCC’s new facility will be able to “replicate real-life scenarios,” while allowing students to train safely.

“It offers a controlled environment for students to practice proper techniques and communication skills and hone their decision-making abilities,” Johnson said.

How the facility will be used

Following demonstrations of car rescues in high waters, Michael Bartch and Stephen White, FTCC full-time water rescue instructors, told The Fayetteville Observer how the facility can be used.

White said instructors can control the water, whereas during the past 15 years, “it’s either been too high or too low,” while there’s been concerns about contaminants like GenX in the water.

White said cameras and TV screens in the facility also allow for monitoring conditions in the water and can be used to show students their mistakes or how they can execute a technique better.

Bartch said the new facility allows students, who receive 50 hours of surface water training, to practice rescues with a car, which isn’t allowed in rivers or lakes because of environmental concerns.

The facility also allows simulation of nighttime operations instead of waiting for it to become dark outside, and students can practice flooded roadway rescues with multiple cars or boat entries at the facility, he said.

"We can now control the water, so it doesn't control us," Bartch said.

Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: What new water rescue facility means for Cumberland County residents