Sumter County Celebrates Opening the New Joint Training Facility & Emergency Shelter
Sumter County officials celebrated the ceremonial hose uncoupling of the new Joint Training Facility & Emergency Shelter at the Gloria Rowe Hayward Sumter County Service Center Campus on June 9, marking a major investment in joint public safety training, emergency preparedness, and community resilience.
County leaders, public safety personnel, project partners, and community members gathered to commemorate the completion of the facility and tour the new campus facilities designed to support both emergency sheltering and training opportunities of Sumter County Fire & EMS and The Villages Public Safety Department.
“These facilities represent an investment in preparedness, partnership, and the future of Sumter County,” said Don Wiley, Chairman of the Sumter County Board of County Commissioners. “By creating a shared space for emergency sheltering and joint training between Sumter County Fire & EMS and The Villages Public Safety Department, this project strengthens our ability to prepare together before emergencies happen and better serve our residents.”
Located at the Gloria Rowe Hayward Sumter County Service Center campus, the new 25,444-square-foot Joint Training Facility & Emergency Shelter was intentionally designed to support both emergency sheltering and joint public safety training opportunities between Sumter County Fire & EMS and The Villages Public Safety Department. The facility strengthens interagency coordination while expanding the County’s ability to support a growing community through enhanced emergency preparedness and public safety operations.
Designed to serve as a pet-friendly storm shelter during local states of emergency, the facility supports both general population and special needs residents. The shelter is designed to accommodate approximately 672 residents in the General Population Shelter and approximately 237 individuals in the Special Needs Shelter, helping ensure residents have access to safe accommodations during emergencies.
The shelter operation will serve as the County’s first shelter to open and last shelter to close, providing greater flexibility during emergency operations while helping reduce disruptions to local schools, which are often utilized for emergency sheltering during storms and disasters.
“This shelter strengthens our ability to support residents before, during, and after emergencies,” said David Casto, Emergency Management Director for Sumter County. “From sheltering residents during storms to supporting year-round emergency preparedness and training, this facility enhances our community’s resilience.”
When not activated for sheltering, the facility will also support year-round training opportunities for both Sumter County Fire & EMS and The Villages Public Safety Department, creating a collaborative environment focused on emergency preparedness, joint training, and public safety.
A major feature of the field training portion of the campus is the new four-story fire training tower, designed to provide realistic, hands-on emergency response training for firefighters, EMS personnel, and partner agencies. The site also includes shipping containers for the live fire training and the tower for specialized training spaces, allowing responders to conduct live fire and scenario-based training locally, reducing the need for travel outside the county.
“This facility represents an important investment in how we prepare, train, and work together to protect our community,” said Rob Hanson, Fire Chief for Sumter County Fire & EMS. “Having a local facility where Sumter County Fire & EMS and The Villages Public Safety Department can conduct realistic, hands-on joint training strengthens communication, coordination, and readiness before emergencies ever happen.”
A major benefit of the joint training facility is the opportunity for both agencies to participate in realistic and scenario-based training exercises, strengthening teamwork, interoperability, and coordination before critical incidents occur.
“This joint training facility represents an incredible opportunity to continue strengthening the partnership between our departments,” said Brian Twiss, Fire Chief of The Villages Public Safety Department. “Training side-by-side in realistic environments allows our teams to improve coordination, build stronger working relationships, and ultimately provide an even higher level of service to the communities we serve.”
Also included on-site is a 1,070-square-foot recovery building, designed to support operations at the fire training grounds and training tower.
The success of the project is highly attributed to the coordination and dedication of Sumter County staff and design-build partners (AJAX Building Company and Clemons Rutherford & Associates, Inc.) whose collaboration helped bring the facility from concept to completion.
While both Sumter County Fire & EMS Department and The Villages Public Safety Department will utilize these training facilities regularly for training and preparedness, the community is invited to experience firsthand how these investments support public safety during the “America 250” Joint Fire Training Demonstration on June 26 at the Joint Training Facility. From 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., residents are invited to enjoy a family-friendly, touch-a-truck style event, providing an opportunity to meet first responders, explore emergency vehicles and equipment, and learn more about public safety. From 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., attendees can experience a joint training demonstration featuring Sumter County Fire & EMS Department and The Villages Public Safety Department, showcasing the teamwork, coordination, and training that strengthen emergency preparedness in our community. Residents are encouraged to attend, and additional event details will be released soon.
The Joint Training Facility & Emergency Shelter reflects a continued investment in joint preparedness, regional collaboration, public safety, and community resilience, ensuring both Sumter County Fire & EMS and The Villages Public Safety Department have the tools, training opportunities, and shared resources needed to serve residents for years to come.