Firefighter trainees participated in the two-week Arkansas River Valley Fire Academy on the Arkansas Tech University campus. Hosted by the Arkansas Agriculture Department's Forestry Commission, the United States Forest Service, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the National Park Service, the academy was able to bring in 13 states to participate in the event. Courses taught at the academy are accredited by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG). The academy includes courses such as basic forest firefighter training and dispatch and communication.
Austin Heffington of Russellville participated in the academy in 2016 as a student liaison to assist with the planning of the academy and returned in 2019 to take a pumps course that otherwise he would have to take out-of-state. "Basically, this is a good local opportunity so we don't have to go to different states to build up classes," he said.