WMFD opens new training facility

State of the art facility named for fallen heroes

By DON WILBURN

donaldfwilburn@gmail.com

Heroes aren’t born, they are made and in the case of some of our local West Memphis heroes, quite literally forged by fire. The West Memphis Fire Department currently has an ISO Rating of 5 which is one of the highest in the state of Arkansas, but that doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by will power and constant training.

To assist firefighters in that training The WMPD celebrated the opening of the largest training facility between Memphis and Little Rock, The Eason-Lang Training Facility this past Thursday.

“This state of art facility is very significant in that it allows us to do inhouse training under live fire conditions” said Fire Chief Barry Ealy, “Every part represents a challenge firefighters face in our city. This facility allows them to fall back on their training during an emergency and provides a better trained firefighter to the citizens of West Memphis.”

The facility which is made up of shipping containers stands four stories tall and can simulate most any emergency firefighters are likely to face from high angle rescues in multiple story buildings to smoke-filled pitch black rooms in which fire is pumped into using a system of pipes.

“The idea started with two containers and a one level burn facility. You can see the project has grown exponentially” says Division

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Chief Robert Mabe, “Fires have changed and our department has changed. It allows us to be able to attack fires in a different way. Just like a football team, you can’t just go out on a Sunday afternoon and expect to play a good game. This gives us the chance to practice and score a touchdown every time the tones go off for a fire.”

The Facility was named after two West Memphis Firefighters who were lost in the line of duty. David Eason died January 26th‚ 2011‚ at the age of 38 after suffering cardiac arrest during a training exercise at the Arkansas Fire Academy in Camden. He was the first West Memphis firefighter to die in the line of duty since the department was founded in 1930.

Jason Lang, 20, was on his way to an EMT clinical training class in Pine Bluff in 2022 when he stopped to help at the scene on the interstate. He was struck and killed by a passing 18-wheeler.

ABOVE: The varied aspects of the facility allow for almost any training scenario imaginable. RIGHT: Firefighters have been using the facility even before it officially opened.

Photos by WMFD