New Castle County Public Training Center
The New Castle County Public Safety Training Center – Emergency Vehicle Operator’s Course is a training facility for multiple emergency service departments of New Castle County. These emergency departments include Fire, EMS, Police, and K-9. The project is currently separated into two phases. Phase 1 includes the K-9 Building & associated parking and K-9 Yard, K-9 Training Prop, full emergency vehicle operator’s course & Skills Pad. Phase 2 will include a Classroom Building, Recovery/Teaching Pavilion, agility yard, and storage areas, all for training purposes.
The emergency vehicle operator’s course has been designed to meet the department’s curriculum and the County’s Police Driving School requirements. It will allow instructors ample viewing/instructing locations and provide a mixture of vehicle maneuvering, training, and skills control elements. The Skills Pad is designed for precision maneuvers and skills control and can be set up with cones, etc., in different layouts for emergency responder skills tests.
The K-9 building consists of interior/exterior kennel runs, a meeting room, restrooms, storage for K-9 training props, and secure narcotic storage. The K-9 Training Prop is designed around the National Police Canine Association Certificate standards and is able to provide certifications for scent detection, including narcotics, explosives, and building search events. The Classroom Building will consist of two training rooms, which can be combined into one large training room, two driving simulators, and support spaces such as offices, a break area, and shower/restroom facilities. The recovery/training pavilion will contain a covered recovery area that can also be used as an outdoor classroom in addition to office/administration space, first aid care, instructor gear storage, site maintenance vehicle and storage bays, and vending/food areas.
As a whole, this facility provides a large range of training options while also utilizing smart multi-purpose space design practices. Relevance: Programmatic elements, located in New Castle County, K-9 kennels, and support space for K-9’s.
