The Wilmington Fire Department Training Division is responsible for the coordination and delivery of training to department personnel. There are four personnel assigned to the Fire Training Division. Battalion Chief C.G. Nelson is the Chief of Training, and Capt. T.W. Smith, Capt. J.S. Mason, and Capt. D.E. Grafius are the Training Officers. There are currently 58 instructors certified by the N.C. Office of State Fire Marshal in the department. These are mostly company officers, who are responsible for the daily training of firefighters, which is accomplished at each individual fire station.

There are three designated training stations within the department. Fire Headquarters houses a training classroom capable of handling classes up to 40 students. Station 7’s classroom will handle 25 students, while Station 8 can accommodate 20 students. All three classrooms are provided with full multimedia capabilities.

The department’s training facility is located at 1203 Lakeshore Drive, and consists of a five-story training tower and drill grounds. This facility is slated to be replaced by a new 15 acre facility jointly funded by the City of Wilmington, New Hanover County, and Cape Fear Community College. This facility will house a training tower, commercial burn building, residential burn building, driving pad, classrooms, simulators, drafting pit, and other modern training facilities.

The Fire Training Division ensures that each fire fighter receives annual training to maintain Firefighter II, Medical Responder, HazMat, and other State of N.C. certifications. We are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to deliver training, while ensuring our firefighters are able to do their multi-faceted jobs efficiently, but most importantly, safely.