Blazing a Trail

K-State, Kansas Forest Service building facility to support state’s rural fire and agricultural education initiatives

By Pat Melgares

Rendering - an early rendering of the Kansas Rural Fire and Workforce Development Center to be located in Manhattan, KS.

Kansas State University and the Kansas Forest Service have announced plans to build a $5 million shared facility that will boost current efforts to provide critical firefighting training and equipment and state-of-the-art instructional space for academic and regional workforce development programs.

Construction of the Kansas Rural Fire and Workforce Development Center is expected to begin in May, 2026. The facility will be shared by the state’s forest service and K-State’s Department of Communications and Agricultural Education. Completion is estimated for August, 2027.

The 13,268-square-foot facility will include:

• A modernized shop for fire equipment.

• A teaching lab for emergency response, modern agricultural technology and mechanics classes.

• A multi-purpose classroom and lab for teaching and workforce training and development.

State Forester Jason Hartman said the new building will address “critical space limitations” faced by the Federal Excess Property Program, which acquires excess property from the Department of Defense and other federal sources, retrofits the equipment, and then provides it on loan to local fire departments.

“The facility will also create an applied learning space for faculty to train future teachers and provide continuing education for the state’s 300-plus agricultural educators,” said Jason Ellis head of K-State’s Department of Communications and Agricultural Education.

“This new facility will allow us to support our key stakeholders in the state by providing high-demand education, professional development and resources.”

Ellis hailed the joint effort between KFS and K-State’s College of Agriculture, saying the building’s dual program focus is built on the university’s vision of becoming the nation’s premier land grant university, as it will be Kansas-centered and learner-focused.

Kansas State University received a $3.2 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to support this development project. Hartman added that KFS’ collaboration with the Flint Hills Regional Council also “was essential to helping secure funding.”