Emmitsburg is already feeling the impact from the National Fire Academy’s announcement on Friday that it was cancelling classes.

The academy trained over ninety eight thousand students in 2021, but while its doors remain temporarily closed, Emmitsburg will have to rely on the University of Maryland to train their fire fighters.

Emmitsburg Mayor Frank Davis says that while the town may have other options for training, smaller fire departments around the US may be hit harder. “For the smaller fire departments, especially the volunteer departments, this is their only means of upper level training,” Davis said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is facing budget cuts from the Trump Administration. Mayor Davis says this is just the academy's turn to be reviewed by FEMA. “ I’m hoping it’s going to be short-lived. It shouldn’t be very hard to justify the training they put on, on a daily basis,” Davis said.

Davis says around thirty percent of the town's economy comes from students at the National Fire Academy using local businesses.