Easton Volunteer Fire Department Hosts Groundbreaking for the A. James Clark Emergency Services Training Campus

Friends of the Easton Volunteer Fire Department (EVFD) recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the A. James Clark Emergency Services Training Campus, located at 9095 Mistletoe Drive in Easton. The state-of-the-art training campus will serve the town of Easton, fire departments, emergency service personnel, law enforcement, and paramedics in Talbot County. The new training campus will serve both the Town of Easton and the six local volunteer fire departments in Talbot County. Talbot County has over 600 first responders who can train and respond together because of this new training campus. There currently is no combined first responder training facility in Talbot County or on the Mid-Shore.
Brett Whitehead, Master of Ceremonies and Co-Chairmen of the EVFD Emergency Services Training Campus campaign, welcomed guests including several representatives from the Easton Volunteer Fire Department.
“This is important, not only here in Talbot County, but in the entire Mid-Shore region, where we have a first-class facility to make sure that the residents in the first congressional district stay safe and secure. It doesn’t get any better than that,” stated Congressman Andy Harris, MD, who was the first to speak to the large crowd.
Following the groundbreaking, guests went to the Easton Volunteer Fire Department for a reception and to hear remarks by Whitehead, Ed Forte, Co-Chairmen of the EVFD Emergency Services Training Campus campaign; Daryl Caldwell, Captain, EVFD; Courtney Clark Pastrick, A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation Board Chair; Joe Gamble, Talbot County Sheriff; Alan Lowrey, Easton Chief of Police; Easton Mayor Megan Cook; Brian LeCates, Director of Talbot County Emergency Services; and Senator Johnny Mautz.
“This project started up a long time ago before I became a firefighter. This will be my fifth year, and probably six or seven years ago, somebody had a great idea of building a training campus . . . There is no training campus really in this area. There’s a training campus in Princess Anne, Maryland, and one in Centerville primarily dedicated to fire. So when Ed Forte and I went out and started raising money for this project, the first thing we thought about was how we put all the emergency services people together. At least 90% of the calls we go on involve all three groups,” explained Whitehead.
“So not only will this facility that we’ve now raised $4 million to build be a state-of-the-art facility where each of these groups can hone their skills, but it also allows us to all hone our skills together, and that’s the magic about what we’re trying to get done.”
Whitehead’s Co-Chairman for the campaign, Ed Forte, added, “I’m 45 years as a volunteer in New Jersey and here, so I’ve seen things happen in my previous life, but nothing has happened like we’ve put together here in such a short period.”
The project specifics include a

• 3,500-square-foot concrete public safety building for first responder training
• 3,600-square-foot educational and training building named for sponsor Preston Automotive Group
• 1,500-square-foot concrete pad for car fire, extrication/stabilization, and traffic safety training
• Fire department training – firefighting skills, rescue, and motor-vehicle fire/extraction
• Law enforcement training – hostage rescue, physical training/testing, traffic training, Homeland Security, and K-9
• Emergency Medical Services training – classroom facilities
  Daryl Caldwell, Captain of EVFD, who helped manage the construction of the facility, shared, “We’re doing our best to make this a great facility where we all can learn, we all can train, and do better at our jobs. That’s all we ask to do.”
  Whitehead introduced Courtney Clark Pastrick, the Board Chair of the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation, whose lead gift helped to make the dream for the facility become a reality.
  “The moment I heard about the mission and what this was going to do for this community, and knowing how much my parents love this community, it just felt like a perfect fit. And I think we’ve watched this come to fruition over the last few years, and it’s been such a pleasure to work with everybody down here and see the excitement, Pastrick commented.
  “It’s hard to get good people to come into this profession if they have to drive an hour and a half to go for training both ways, and they have small kids at home. And I don’t think I’d ever thought of how practical this project is and how much it’s going to help the entire force and everybody who is going to use it in Talbot County and elsewhere.”
  Sheriff Joe Gamble shared, “This project should be great for all of us. You know, I can’t tell you at two o’clock in the morning how amazed I am that men and women get out of bed and don’t get paid and come out and work. . . it was great always to see the volunteers. . . I truly believe that they’re the fabric of our community. Each one of these volunteer firehouses is the fabric that holds us together.”
  Alan Lowrey, Easton Chief of Police, echoed Gamble, stating, “This is a great step to helping us be able to work together and train together so that when we confront these things, we can provide the response that our community needs. It’s all about our community.”
  Brian LeCates, Director of Talbot County Emergency Services, shared that those who work in public safety know that every second counts, and the difference between success and failure often comes to how they train before the disaster occurs. He stated that the new training campus allows these professionals to train in a more professional setting to prepare for these scenarios.
  Easton Mayor Megan Cook added, “I’m so thankful to be here, along with Council Member Abbaitello, to congratulate our wonderful volunteer fire department. Your hard work and efforts have brought this new facility to our town that will help educate and empower local first responder teams all across our region. . . It’s a place where those professionals can safely learn how to accomplish the most difficult tasks and overcome the most dangerous of scenarios. . . we’re glad to see the Eastern volunteer fire department continue to be leaders and take charge and decisively act to fill this need.”
  “I’d like to thank Mayor Willie, whose vision and leadership ensured that the town donated the land and to the fire department. His foresight and commitment to our community have left a lasting impression.”
  Senator Johnny Mautz concluded the ceremony, adding, “We were delighted to see that the General Assembly was able to come up with $150,000 in the Senate and $150,000 from the House, combined to support this project. The leadership knows they need to train to be safe, and this is going to go so far to improve our fire service, but most importantly, to make it safer so more people will join the fire service.”
  Whitehead shared that he hopes to have the group together again in 12 months when the campus is completed. The campaign needs to raise an additional $1 million for operations of the facility. For further information or to donate to the Friends of the EVFD Public Safety Capital Campaign for its Emergency Services Training Campus in Easton, Maryland, contact Brett Whitehead at (302) 236-6249 or by email at [email protected].