Construction of fire academy underway

Thursday, May 7, 1998 | 2:39 a.m.

"In about 10 months, we will open the Fire Science Academy right here in Elko County, and it's going to make a big difference in the lives of the citizens living in Elko County," University of Nevada, Reno, President Joe Crowley said Tuesday at a ceremony marking the start of the construction.

"Today is a day we were not sure would ever arrive," he said.

The academy, expected to draw an average of 100 students a week the first year, will add stability to an area dependent upon gold mines, Crowley added.

Academy Director John Seeck said the $27 facility will include about 2 million square feet of props.

The academy will have the largest fuel tank of any fire school - 100 feet in diameter - for simulating tank farm fires, and mining props that will be "one of a kind literally in the world," he said.

Seeck expects classes to begin in March.

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