VIDALIA &045; The Vidalia Fire Department now has its own plot of land to burn.

With last week’s approval from the Vidalia Board of Alderman, two acres on Logan Sewell Drive will be dedicated to a training facility for the department.

The lot is currently nothing but green grass, but in coming years it will hold a burn building and hopefully other training facilities, Chief Jack Langston said.

&uot;We looked at several spots, and this was the best location,&uot; he said. &uot;You don’t need to be in town because you’ve got something burning, but it didn’t need to be too far out either.&uot;

The lot has nearby hydrants to supply water.

The facility itself is still in the planning stages though, Langston said.

&uot;I’ve done some rough drawings,&uot; he said. &uot;This is something you do and redo and look at and redo again. You have to give it a complete thinking through.&uot;

At the minimum the lot will contain a burn building where firefighters can receive training with hoses, ventilation and in search and rescue. Additions of things like a fire tower and smoke tunnel could come later.

The VFD has discussed the facility for several years now in order to eliminate travel to Baton Rouge for training.

Fire departments receive rankings based on their performance and their level of training. To have a high ranking, firefighters must have 20 hours per month of individual training, plus annual hours of hazardous material and driver/operator training.

They also have to have multi-company, two or more shifts, train together at night and in the day time.

&uot;I feel like training is the necessary evil in the fire department,&uot; Langston said.

So far, Langston estimated, the department has raised around $8,000 for the facility from the last two Vittles and Fiddles festivals. The department started the music and food festival two years ago at River View RV Park to raise the funds.

Grant money is an option to fund the facility and would make it possible to include all training measures from the start.

&uot;If we have to do it the way we are doing it now, we’ll have pieces, parts and puzzles,&uot; Langston said.

The first step, though, is to fence in the land.