The Cleveland County Board of Commissioners on July 8, 2025, adopted a proclamation expressing gratitude to Albemarle Mining for opening properties in Kings Mountain for first‑responder training.

Albemarle staff described work done to prepare houses on company land for realistic training, including asbestos sampling, utility checks and ground‑penetrating radar to locate fuel tanks and other hazards. Braden Bieber, an Albemarle presenter, told the board the company has partnered with the Kings Mountain Fire Department, Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office and a community college to stage controlled burns and other exercises. "This is throwing those students into the deep end," Bieber said, adding that training plans aim to prepare more than 200 students by late 2025.

The county proclamation said that since March 2025 more than 100 emergency responders from across the county have taken part in training on the properties and thanked Albemarle for supporting the community’s first responders.

Bieber described steps taken before training began: asbestos sampling on structures, walkthroughs with power departments, and ground‑penetrating‑radar surveys to identify underground tanks and utilities so buildings could be cleared and made safe. He said training done so far has included two controlled structure burns, ‘‘FIT’’ training with multiple furnished houses to help students investigate causes and fire behavior, canine exercises that simulate narcotics or explosive finds, and SWAT drills simulating armed threats.

The presentation noted the training sites give students and canine teams more realistic scenarios than the standard community college simulators. Albemarle also described flexibility to use structures for ventilation, rescue and other non‑burn exercises if a building is unsuitable for burning.

The board adopted a formal proclamation that commended Albemarle’s support; the proclamation text recorded the adoption as of July 8, 2025. No separate ordinance or funding action was taken by the board during this presentation.

The board did not record a roll‑call vote in the meeting transcript for the proclamation; the clerk read the proclamation and the chair declared it adopted.