Chris Koehl Fire Training Facility

In 2010, Washington Fire Chief Mike Vaughn began effort to create the first fire training facility in Tazewell County right here in Washington. That year, $300,000 was secured from the City of Washington as well as the Washington Fire Protection District for the construction of the facility, to be constructed on the far east end of Constitution Street. A portion of that money was accumulated by stretching the life of one of the department’s fire trucks that was set to be replaced. The facility was finally constructed in 2011 and was named after Chris Koehl, long-time Washington Fire Chief.

The facility immediately paid dividends to the fire department. Whereas before the fire department would have to rent out the Peoria fire training facility and usually only a portion of the fire department would be able to attend those trainings, firefighters could now attend trainings multiple times per month. The facility contains interior stairs, movable interior walls, as well as a room that can reach up to 1,200 degrees. Firefighters can also practice second story rescues and almost any other scenario that they might encounter in a real fire. Multiple local departments have used the facility for their own benefit, and the University of Illinois has held classes there. It is very uncommon for a town the size of Washington to have such a facility.