HYDE PARK – Joined by firefighters, officers of the Dutchess County EMS Council, elected officials, and residents from across the county, Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino and the County Department of Emergency Response officially opened the county’s new, state-of-the-art Live Fire Training Building at the county’s Emergency Response campus at 392 Creek Road in Hyde Park on Saturday.
The modular fire training structure will provide local firefighters with the opportunity to train in a variety of live burn scenarios.
As part of the celebration, the county dedicated the County Fire Training Grounds in honor of Ray Nichols, who has served as Deputy County Fire Coordinator for nearly 40 years. In Nichols’ early years as a volunteer firefighter, he became very active in the Roosevelt Fire District and rose through the ranks quickly. In 1969, while serving as Roosevelt FD Assistant Chief, he was featured in a 1969 article in Fire Engineering about the new Plectron radio system being implemented throughout the county.
In 1982, Nichols forged his identity in the fire service. On January 23, 1982, a fire at the Staatsburg School went to three alarms, with Nichols doing his part. Later that day, with two old fire engines and a ladder truck from the Hudson River Psychiatric Center, Roosevelt Fire Chief Nichols led the response to extinguish the historic fire at the home of former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
“To this day, lessons from that fire are still in best practice by the National Park Service,” according to County Emergency Response Commissioner William “Bill” Beale, who was only six years old at the time of the FDR fire.
“This new fire training building is an exciting step forward for firefighter training in Dutchess County. Live burn training is essential, and our firefighters now have a top-tier facility to sharpen their skills safely and effectively. Every day our community counts on the dedication and expertise of volunteer and career firefighters, and we’re proud to give these brave men and women the tools they need to protect lives and property,” Serino said.
“This new training building is a game‑changer for firefighter readiness,” said County Fire Coordinator Bill Beale. “It provides cutting‑edge, scenario‑driven training that meets modern standards and elevates firefighters’ skills. We are grateful to the local departments for their continued support of our Fire Training Grounds and look forward to continuing to elevate training opportunities for the brave men and women of the fire service, ensuring they will be even more prepared to keep our communities safe.”
Live burn exercises allow firefighters to train in real-time fire conditions within a controlled structure, helping them better understand fire behavior, strengthen coordination, and make critical decisions safely and effectively.
Dutchess County’s new three‑story modular burn building is constructed using reinforced shipping containers and features movable wall partitions that can be reconfigured to simulate realistic interior environments such as hallways and rooms. This flexibility enables firefighters to train for a broad range of emergency situations with the highest level of authenticity.
Additional components of the building include a rappelling tower, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), maze, rebar cutting prop, pitched roof prop, forced-entry door, standpipe connections and more, which support training in confined space operations, hose configurations, forcible entry, search and rescue, and high-angle rope rescues.
Each year, thousands of volunteer and career fire professionals train at the Dutchess County Emergency Response Fire Training Grounds, the framework of which was a vision of Nichols. Nichols, a Hyde Park resident, has served as County Deputy Fire Coordinator since 1988 and has been foundational in the development and expansion of the county’s training facilities. A longtime member of the Roosevelt Fire Department, he served as chief in the 1980s, leading the department through many significant emergency response events. He also played a key role in the creation of the Hyde Park Training Association.
“The new Live Fire Training building is part of Dutchess County’s longstanding commitment to excellence in fire services and Ray Nichols has been at the forefront of that commitment, so it is only fitting to honor Ray for all he has done to advance fire training with today’s dedication. It was truly an honor to celebrate him and express our gratitude,” Serino added.
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