Posts Tagged new training center proposed for public safety personnel

Streator Fire Department news (more)

Apr 4

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | Comments off

The Streator Fire Department Training Center is now open, providing a safe and controlled environment to train local firefighters. It was made possible due to the Jim Rhodes family donating nine acres of land on West 10th Street along with funds donated from Bill and Peggy Harrison. The training center will be open for use to other regional paid and volunteer fire departments. Volunteer departments will only be required to pay for the consumable items they use.

The new training center also helps the department’s Insurance Services Office (ISO) score.

The fire department plans on having four burns per year, most of which will take place in the spring, summer, and fall to avoid ice and cold weather. They will have their first official training starting Monday, April 22, through Wednesday, April 24.

new training facility for the Streator Fire Department

Streator Fire Department photo

Tags: Bill and Peggy Harrison, chicagoareafire.com, Jim and Marjorie Rhodes Estate, new training center proposed for public safety personnel, new training facility for the Streator Fire Department, Steator receives land donation for training facility, Streator Fire Chief Gary Bird, Streator Fire Department

Streator Fire Department news

Dec 4

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | Comments off

Excerpts from mywebtimes.com:

The Streator Fire Department received a boost toward building its planned regional training center Wednesday.

Bill and Peggy Harrison donated $65,000 to the department, to be used for the construction of a 30-by-30-foot classroom in the spring. This is phase two of a five-year project for the center at the end of 10th Street. Jim and Marjorie Rhodes donated the property for the center earlier this year.

“We were talking about some donation ideas and had been thinking about it for four to five years,” Peggy Harrison said. “We heard the city was getting the land and thought that would be ideal. It will be a real asset to the community.”

“It’s going to help other communities too and law enforcement, it won’t only be for fire training,” Bill Harrison said. “We wanted to try to help Streator in some way. This came about and was a good opportunity to see if they needed help.”

Fire Chief Gary Bird said the classroom will be used for fire and police training, while the rest of the facility will be used for hands-on training.

“(The donation) helps the city by alleviating the cost and will speed up the building of the training center,” Bird said.

Tags: Bill and Peggy Harrison, chicagoareafire.com, Jim and Marjorie Rhodes Estate, new training center proposed for public safety personnel, Steator receives land donation for training facility, Streator Fire Chief Gary Bird, Streator Fire Department

Streator receives land donation for training facility

Mar 28

Posted by Admin in Fire Service News | Comments off

Excerpts from mywebtimes.com:

A Streator couple signed an agreement Thursday with the city donating land for a public safety training facility.

The agreement, between the Jim and Marjorie Rhodes Estate and Streator, allows for 8.7 acres at the end of 10th Street to be used for fire and police training. Formal legal closing on the property is expected to take place within a few weeks.

“I think it’s good for the community, something to bring to Streator,” Jim Rhodes said after signing the agreement. “We worked ever since back in the ‘80s when we first opened (our business) — we always had fire and ambulance out there doing training. I think it’s a nice place they can call their own.”

The property is at Edson, Center and Wesley streets, which as part of the agreement, will be renamed Jim Rhodes Lane.

Streator Fire Chief Gary Bird said the facility will be built in phases over five years, with the first including site work and connection of electricity and water to the grounds.

He added that all the fire chiefs in the Southern La Salle County Northern Livingston County Fire Chiefs Association are aware of the training center coming to Streator and that it will be available for their use.

“Streator police, Grand Ridge Fire Department and Long Point Fire Department have committed to do some training,” Bird said. “Some instructors will be from the Streator Fire Department, and it also will likely be a host site for the Illinois Fire Service Institute. It’s our hope that we can offer classes from instructors across the country.”

thanks Dan

Tags: Illinois Fire Service Institute, Jim and Marjorie Rhodes Estate, new training center proposed for public safety personnel, Southern La Salle County Northern Livingston County Fire Chiefs Association, Steator receives land donation for training facility, Streator Fire Chief Gary Bird, Streator Fire Department

College of Dupage wants to build public safety training center

Mar 24

Posted by Admin in Fire Service News | 9 Comments

The Daily Herald has an article outlining plans for a new public safety training center in DuPage County:

College of DuPage officials say the nearest comprehensive training center for emergency first responders is in Texas, so they’re taking the lead in trying to bring one to Chicago’s suburbs.

The proposed Midwest Regional Training Center is envisioned as an off-campus training facility for local, state and federal agencies, as well as an emergency operations center where such groups can work together during a crisis.

The college has been looking at multiple locations — primarily in DuPage County — on which to build the training center that would cover between 30 and 50 acres. So far, officials haven’t revealed exactly which sites they’ve explored.

The construction price tag is estimated between $60 million and $75 million.

The facility would feature several indoor firearm ranges with simulations of weather conditions and moving targets, a tactical village to conduct mock shooter- and incident-response scenarios, emergency vehicle driving courses, a water rescue area, a burn tower, an airplane fuselage and a debris pit.

Joe Cassidy, the college’s dean for continuing education and extended learning, said the project fits well with goals set during a recent White House summit with community colleges and businesses that analyzed how schools can meet increased demands for job training.

Cassidy said elements of the proposed facility already exist in the area, but as a whole, “there’s nothing as comprehensive as what we’re talking about.”

Other agencies that have been active in conversations about the facility include the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Illinois Emergency Management Agency; DuPage County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management; Chicago Police Department; BNSF Railway; and Canadian National Railway.

The college also sent a survey to gauge the interest of area police and fire departments and 130 have responded.

Wauconda Fire Chief Dave Dato said there are scattered locations throughout Lake County where “bare bones” training takes place, but the proposed facility would bring first responders throughout the region to one place.

Plans for the training center follow the opening of the $30 million, 66,000-square-foot Homeland Security Education Center on COD’s campus in fall 2011. The facility houses the college’s criminal justice and fire science/EMS programs and Suburban Law Enforcement Academy, which provides continuing education courses for area police department personnel. The building also features a “4D immersive street scene” and an emergency management center that was used by law enforcement agencies during the NATO summit last May.

The complete article is HERE.

thanks Chris

Tags: College of DuPage, comprehensive training center for emergency first responders, Midwest Regional Training Center, new training center proposed for public safety personnel