The Vermont Fire Academy is set to start construction of a new $1.7 million (£1.19 million) training school in April.

Jim Litevich, chief fire services training officer, said that the new centre will provide additional support for cadets that need to supplement their offsite field training with classroom-based study in order to achieve accreditation.

In addition to entry level training and development courses, the academy will also offer advanced and specialty programmes that will train workers to handle oil, gas and other hazardous materials.

Speaking to the Rutland Herald, Rutland City fire chief Robert Schlachter said that the state currently suffers from a lack of highly trained workers because of logistical problems in providing the requisite training.

Commenting on the academy, he added: "They do well with hazardous materials and the like. We could definitely use more in the way of tactical training and advanced officer training."

The site also has links to the Vermont Technical College's Fire Sciences department, which provides advanced hazmat, incident strategy and emergency medicine training.

Oil and Gas Directory: Training and Development