Fortuna Volunteer Fire Department Training Facility & Street Dedication

On July 21, community members, family, friends, and local fi refi ghting personnel gathered at the Fortuna Volunteer Fire Department for two dedications and a ribbon cutting.

The new 34-foot Eel River Valley fi re training facility, funded through Measure Z, features various training rooms and props, including two burn rooms where fi refi ghters can experience live fi re suppression techniques in a safe and controllable environment. The training facility will be available for use by local fi re and law enforcement agencies as well as students enrolled in the Eel River Valley Fire Academy and the College of the Redwoods Fire Academy. The new access road from the facility to Newburg Road has been renamed Nicholson Way in honor of late Fortuna Fire Protection District Commissioner & Board Chair David Nicholson. Nicholson, who died earlier this year, previously served as a fi refi ghter, captain of Company 1, and as assistant chief of the fi re department. Commissioner Robert Johnson, Supervisor Michelle Bushnell, Cheryl Nicholson, Mayor Sue Long, and Assistant Chief Rus Brown were just a few of the speakers who talked about the new training facility and Dave’s many contributions to the fi re department and community.

Top: Cheryl Nicholson poses next to the street sign dedicated to her late husband. Photo credit: Mary Bullwinkel Left: An overhead shot from the training facility. Photo credit: Enoch Ibarra Below: The ribbon cutting. Photo credit: Mary Bullwinkel