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At the first of 2020, the Nicholasville Fire Department learned it received an $84,000 grant to purchase new training equipment.

The 40-foot-long by 8-foot-wide unit was delivered and installed a week ago at the department’s training location on East Brown Street.

NFD Deputy Chief Marty Kazsuk said the equipment will allow firefighters for Nicholasville and other departments to train for a number of situations including search and rescue, confined space rescue and firefighter survival.

In the past, firefighters have had to seek this training when and where it was available.

“We may have had to utilize either mobile equipment that’s brought in by the (Kentucky) fire commission or an outside school that has this available, Kazsuk said. “The neat thing is this is ours and we can use it any time. It gives us the capability to re-certify ourselves annually and to train our new recruits as they are ready.”

Kazsuk said other fire departments will be able to use it for training as well.

Inside, firefighters can set up to train on a number of scenarios including a maze, wall breaches, firefighter entanglement and a tanker with valving to simulate hazardous material incidents.

Kazsuk said the department received the grant early in 2020 from the Kentucky Fire Commission. Throughout the year, there were many conversations and meetings with Drager Systems, which manufactured the unit. It was delivered and installed Nov. 25.

So far, the department has not gotten to train in it yet, he said, between COVID concerns, the holidays and this week’s winter weather.