Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:
Hundreds of area residents turned out for the open house Wednesday afternoon at the Elgin Community College Center for Emergency Services in Burlington.
ECC President David Sam welcomed visitors to the open house and thanked the community for its support in passing the referendum question in 2009 that provided funding for the facility.
The 120-acre site includes two ponds which furnish water for fire trucks and three main building structures: the academic building, where classes are held in public safety and communications, emergency medical services, criminal justice and fire science; the apparatus building, which features two bays for training and houses a fleet of emergency vehicles including two engines, an ambulance and a ladder truck; and a three-story burn tower for training of firefighters in search and rescue, and train police in incident management.
Streamwood Fire Chief Chris Clark, who also works as an adjunct faculty member at the facility, said the training tower allows them to perform search and rescue training in a safe environment and was built with the flexibility to be used for many different types of training.
Inside the academic building, students will receive training in public safety communications for 911 operators; practice CPR and other lifesaving techniques; learn to operate a firetruck or police car on a simulated driving machine; and plan the tactical management of multiple departments in the incident command room, which includes a model city.
