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Fire chief outlines new training facility, recruit classes and five‑year strategic plan
Summary
Chief Beasley reported increased runs, multi-week aerial and structural-collapse training, an internal recruit class conducted with Smyrna firefighters, and presented a five‑year customer-driven strategic plan plus a rough 10‑year capital improvement outline.
Fire Chief Beasley presented the June report and a multi-part update to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on July 1, 2025, describing training investments, a local recruit class and a department strategic plan.
Chief Beasley said monthly run volume rose slightly compared with last year and that the department typically sees a 3–5% annual increase in calls. He highlighted three major training initiatives during the last month: an internal recruit class (the department’s fourth), three weeks of aerial-operations and pump-operations training delivered by an instructor from the Tennessee Fire Coach Academy, and an 80‑hour structural-collapse training exercise in West Tennessee. The chief said those exercises were “significant” and valuable for newer firefighters.
Chief Beasley described a new on-site training structure built from seven stacked shipping containers. He said the facility was a “grassroots effort” drawn and assembled by firefighters with the city engineer’s input, intended to allow realistic live-fire, search-and-rescue and hose‑advance training, including multi-story and confined-space evolutions.
The chief provided an annual report for 2024 and a new customer-driven five‑year strategic plan that includes seven goals with objectives and success measures; the packet also contains a rough 10‑year capital improvement plan. Beasley said the strategic plan was developed in partnership with Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) and the University of Tennessee and will be revisited annually as a living document tied to accreditation work with the Center for Public Safety Excellence.
Board members asked for clarification about training and the new facility; the chief credited in-house carpentry and public-works staff for construction assistance and said the facility’s realism helps compensate for reduced senior staffing levels by improving training depth.
Chief Beasley did not request board action; he provided the reports for review and said the department will monitor training outcomes and revisit the strategic plan annually.
