b'58 LEX EMERGENCY RESPONSEBlue Grass Airport Upgrades RegionalARFF Training Center BY JODI RICHARDS Last August, Blue Grass Airportyear, the Blue Grass Regional ARFF Training (LEX) in Lexington, KY, unveiled itsCenter hosts more than 1,000 firefighters newly expanded and significantlyrepresenting more than 125 public safety upgraded Regional Aircraft Rescue anddepartments from more than 30 states Firefighting (ARFF) Training Center. Forand several Canadian provinces, as well as FACTS&FIGURESmany, the stars of the show were advancedLEXs own fire department.Project: Expansion & Upgrade of Regional Aircraftsimulators of a Blackhawk helicopter, Boeing Rescue & Firefighting (ARFF) Training Center737 and Airbus A320.Growing ProminenceOwner: Blue Grass Airport, in Lexington, KY One of only 12 airport-operated trainingThe recent $4.8 million update and Key Benefits: More advanced, realistic training forfacilities in the United States, the center atexpansion helps the center at LEX meet a ARFF crews LEX began offering basic and advancedgrowing demand for training, including basic Project Budget: $4.8 million for facility construction/ ARFF training in 1997.certifications, recertifications and custom-expansion; $9 million for new simulators Since then, wevedesigned courses. Funding: Airport Improvement Program grant; FAAbeen serving airportsThe need has been apparent for quite discretionary funding all over the country andsome time as weve continued to grow Timeline: Planning began in 2022; new simulatorseven internationally,and received feedback from our students came online in 2024; facility construction began 2023;says Tyler Miller, thethat we are one of the preferred training grand opening Aug. 2025 centers chief operatingcenters, Miller says. As aviation has New Training Technology: B737/A320 Live Fireofficer. Weve becomeadvanced, so have best practices and Training Simulator; UH-60 Blackhawk Simulator, bothTYLER MILLERfrom Alpine Metal Tech known for offering thattechnology for ARFF training. And, as the Facility Expansion: 4,200 sq. ft.consistent training, and our attendance hascenters training catalog grew, so did the Prime Contractor: Alpine Metal Tech North Americasteadily increased. Because of that growth,need for more classrooms, support areas, Construction: Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.we needed to expand our footprint.equipment and lockers. Electrical: Elliot ElectricThe airport partners with FAA to refinePlanning for the comprehensive Earthwork: LagCoand deliver training curriculums that meetrenovation and expansion began in 2022, HVAC & Plumbing: TP Mechanicalthe federal agencys requirements. Eachwith Alpine Metal Tech North America and March | April 2026AirportImprovement.com'