Carteret Community College now has home base for Crystal Coast Fire Academy

Yahoo

7 days ago

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WNCT) — Carteret Community College's new Crystal Coast Fire Academy has found its home for future trainees.
County leaders, members of the Carteret Chamber and more all gathered at Beaufort Fire Station 2 Thursday, May 29, 2025, for the ribbon cutting on the new Crystal Coast Fire Academy. Carteret Community College has had a fire academy since 2008, but has had to utilize different fire departments to host classes for it consistently all over the county.
Now, they have a centralized location to have those classes. 'We're delighted to have a space in this part of the county because not only will we be able to have a home for the fire academy, but we'll also be able to offer courses for people in this part of Carteret County who might not be able to get to Morehead City either because they don't have transportation or the time to go that far for classes,' Carteret Community College President Tracy Mancini said. 'So, it's going to be a win-win.'
The official building at Beaufort Fire Station 2 gives all trainees a home base to consistently train at. 'It gives us a base to come to every night to start your academy while they're in the four months of academy,' Beaufort Fire Department Chief Tony Ray said. 'The emergency training facility is a mile-and-a-half right down the road. So, the classroom can begin here or practical work, they can go right down there.'
The academy provides many people in the area with an opportunity to serve their local communities and become a member of one of Carteret County's many stations.
'It's an opportunity to partner with the college. It's an opportunity to provide for the community,' Ray said. 'As I said earlier, this is workforce development which leads to career development, which leads to community and neighborhood development. As people leave here and go back here, their career may not be in Carteret County. We have people come from all over the state to attend across the Crystal Coast Fire Academy.'
For more information on the 18-week academy, click here.
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