ADA, Okla. (AP) – The Chickasaw Nation has opened a new search-and-rescue firehouse in Ada.

Tribal Gov. Bill Anoatubby and East Central University President John Hargrave joined other officials Monday at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 6,000-square-foot facility.

The new building houses training and equipment space for the American Indian tribe's search-and-rescue team and wild-land firefighters. It also will be the permanent home of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Chickasaw Agency annual basic firefighter school.

The Chickasaw search-and-rescue teams have assisted after disasters including Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005 and the tornado that hit Lone Grove in February 2009.