ST. MARY PARISH — Franklin firefighters have seen a significant improvement in their fire rating, moving from a Class 6 in 2020 to a Class 4 in 2025. A key factor in this jump is the department’s new training facility, built on a long-unused baseball field that hadn’t hosted an event in more than 30 years.
“We realized we had a deficit of getting adequate training for our firemen, being we had no facility in a reasonable distance,” said Justin Martin, assistant fire chief for the Franklin Fire Department.
Before the facility existed, firefighters traveled to Baton Rouge or New Iberia to complete essential training. The new facility, completed in October 2024, allows crews to train within the city and remain in service for emergency calls.
“Now that this is here, built here. We can do all the training we want here in our own jurisdiction and we’re not taking guys out of service,” Martin said.
The facility features movable walls designed to simulate search-and-rescue situations, rooms that can safely be lit for live-fire exercises, and a sprinkler system for hands-on practice. Chief Chuck Bourgeois emphasized the realism of the training.
“My guys can actually feel what it feels like to be in an actual live fire training, of course they have hose lines with them when they come in to do the training,” Bourgeois said. “As you can see here, all the doors are on tracks so you can slide them right from one area to the next… if I wanted to change this whole wall out, I could push all this back.”
The improvements went beyond training. Franklin replaced more than 40 broken or outdated fire hydrants, with additional upgrades planned, and the 911 center received a new computer-aided dispatch system to track calls and deploy crews faster.
The facility benefits neighboring departments as well. Baldwin, Centerville, and Cypremort Point fire departments now use the site for training, with Franklin providing instructors to help teach their classes. Martin said the collaboration benefits both Franklin and its neighbors.
“Them being volunteer departments, we provide them instructors to help teach their classes — which also benefits us just as much as them,” Martin said.
The combination of training, infrastructure upgrades, and improved coordination has helped Franklin make a notable jump in its rating. Looking ahead, the department is already planning the next step.
“Moving forward, we actually got a meeting with the rating commission in another two weeks to find out what we need to do to get to a Class 3,” Bourgeois said.
