Facility Overview

Facilities and Simulators Designed to Train Public Safety Professionals

The Center for Emergency Preparedness is a region-leading 150-acre center that houses a variety of simulators needed to train public safety professionals.

View Center for Emergency Preparedness Map (PDF)

The Center is the result of a consortium of law enforcement, fire and emergency medical experts and homeland security professionals who helped shape the development and design of the facility.

Collaborating with the nation’s leading emergency services professionals and institutions of higher learning, the Center for Emergency Preparedness now offers a wide range of training certificates and degree programs that are enhanced by the hands-on training capabilities found within the Center.

Review the full list of the simulators, equipment and props that are available in our Northwest Ohio facility:

Training Simulators and Props Found Within the Center

Training and Operations Center High Bay with Emergency Services Training Tower

The 29,000-square-foot Training and Operations Center was built at the west entrance to the Center for Emergency Preparedness and provides first responders with expanded opportunities for real-world scenario training highlighted by the indoor emergency services training tower.

In addition to the indoor training tower, the Center offers indoor rope training off the 50-foot tower and emergency bailout and rapid intervention training.

Seven rooms on four floors comprise the emergency services training tower, as well as a pitched roof ventilation training system area for individuals to conduct exercises using various types of equipment and techniques.

Two stairwells and a fire sprinkler training system are housed within the structure. The exterior of the indoor building can be used for high-angle rescue, ground and aerial ladder drills, apparatus placement, high-rise hose evolution, and rappel entry and exit training.

Additional Training and Operations Center features include six classrooms, eight offices, two reception areas and locker room facilities.

The facility also houses the Owens School of Public Safety and the Center for Emergency Preparedness staff. The building also serves as the primary training facility for OPOTA Police Academy courses and all EMS training classes.

Mock City

The mock city includes a bank, a doctor’s office, a gas station with a convenience store, and several single-family homes, including a drug house.

Our mock city, affectionately called Responderville, includes a variety of full-scale structures designed to simulate various levels of emergency response scenarios for first responder training.

Replicating a community infrastructure, the mock city features a 1,456 square-foot gas station, convenience store, three non-operational pumps, as well as a 1,705 square-foot bank.

Additionally, the training area includes a residential structure and a search and rescue maze structure, which will feature an array of obstacles such as hanging wires, collapsing stairs and furniture.

The mock city provides trainees with the latest in hands-on instruction and educational resources to conduct multi-agency response scenarios such as bank robberies, felony vehicle chases, bomb searches, drug searches, hazardous material emergencies, response to an RDD, hostage situations, rescue operations, medical emergencies, domestic violence disturbances and methamphetamine lab situations.

The various structures can also be filled with theatrical smoke to simulate dust, fire or hazardous material fumes, as well as stage movable vehicle accident training, featuring extrication exercises.

SWAT House

The SWAT House is one of the newest additions to the Mock City.

This facility is used extensively for continued education for law enforcement officers and is also utilized by members of the law enforcement consortium, the advanced OPOTA training known as Close To Home, and students pursuing their law enforcement degree. The facility is also used for EMS training classes and EMS continuing education.

Five-Story Burn Tower

The five-story fire training tower features technology and resources to conduct hands-on instruction and exercises. The 5,020-square-foot fire structure contains three live burn floors and four interior burn areas.

Three of the burn rooms are designed and engineered for fires involving combustible liquid (Liquid Petroleum Gas) and simulate conditions similar to residential, commercial, processing or electrical equipment fires. The facility features several props within the three burn rooms (kitchen, storage/bedroom and office) for live-fire simulations, including a stove and cabinet fire, a shelf/bed fire and a desk/computer fire.

The live fire structure also includes a 735-square-foot attic simulation. The entire facility can simulate heavy smoke conditions produced through a smoke generator.

The burn building also houses a pitched-roof ventilation training area, a two-story vertical confined space shaft and a moveable wall search and rescue maze. Operational sprinkler and standpipe systems, an emergency smoke evacuation system and pressurized stairways are also featured.

Additionally, the facility is designed for high-angle rescue, ground and aerial ladder drills, high-rise hose evolution, rappel entry and exit, automatic sprinkler training, and use by EMS and law enforcement agencies.

Rail Cars (Hazmat Training)

The Center for Emergency Preparedness is home to an assortment of railroad cars. The spur line consists of a box car, a pressurized tank car and a hopper car.

Combined or separately, this prop plays host to a series of training opportunities that include confined space access and rescue, hazardous materials training, search and seizure training, bombing scenarios, response to railroad emergencies, and many more.

The railcar and truck tanker fire simulators allow students to experience various live fire scenarios involving a pressurized rail tanker car.

The props are equipped with Liquid Petroleum gas burners that simulate Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosions (BLEVE), Pressure Relief Device Fire and an overflow fire, along with various other live fire conditions.

The units are controlled via an operator at a computer panel and are designed for safety.

Training will allow students to exercise various tactics in cooling, approaching and extinguishing a flammable liquid-based fire.

Confined Space Rescue Simulator

The Center for Emergency Preparedness confined space rescue simulator is designed to provide a realistic, yet safe environment to conduct specialized rescue training and confined space activities.

Multiple PVC pipes, which range in size from four feet in diameter to a mere 18 inches in diameter, replicate various non-level below-grade environments such as sewer, mineshaft and culvert size area rescues.

The 23,800 square-foot “grassy knoll” contains eight different entrances (four atop the mound and four at ground level) for individuals to replicate many different vertical and horizontal rescue simulations.

The confined space rescue simulator will provide trainees with the latest in hands-on instruction and educational resources related to atmosphere testing and space ventilation for the removal of harmful gases and vapors.

The structure, which is approximately the size of a two-story building, also features two vaults and/or shafts within the tunnel network that descends eight and 18 feet below ground level.

The PVC pipes and vaults and/or shafts can be flooded to simulate working in a flooded or partially flooded environment, as well as filled with theatrical smoke to simulate dust, fire or hazardous material fumes.

Boeing 727

The Boeing 727 is located on a large pad simulating an airport tarmac.

Located nearby is a large passenger bus that can be integrated into a training scenario with the aircraft. The airframe is set up as a passenger jet with the aft end of the aircraft designed as a cargo holding area. This combination allows for hostage rescue scenarios, linear assault training, drug courier interdiction, hazardous materials and explosives scenarios and much more.

The cockpit is accessible for training purposes and all of the exits and over-wing emergency exits can be used during training.

Urban Search and Rescue Building Collapse Simulator

The search and rescue collapse simulator consists of a 1,290 square-foot maze of concrete pipes buried under large quantities of construction material and debris to simulate a building, bridge or other structure destroyed by natural or man-made causes.

The 11,000 square-foot “rubble pile” contains six different entrances (two atop the collapsed structure and four at ground level) for individuals to simulate various types of collapse patterns.

The concrete pipes, which are approximately six inches thick and six feet in diameter, can be filled with theatrical smoke to simulate dust, fire or hazardous material fumes.

The structure itself mirrors the size of a commercial two-story building and is designed to provide the latest in hands-on instruction in breaching, cutting, and search and rescue operations.

Water/Dive/Ice Rescue Training Pond

The Center features an oval-shaped pond that is 32 feet in depth. The base of the 60-foot by 192-foot pond is surfaced with clay, while rock encircles the training prop at the water’s surface.

The dive and rescue pond is designed to provide first responders with an experiential learning venue to conduct simulated hazardous waste clean-up, containment, and dive and water rescue exercises.

The facility also includes an additional pond for Hazardous Materials Simulations.

Extrication Pad

The extrication pad is a designated training area designed to support hands-on vehicle rescue operations. It accommodates up to two vehicles at a time, allowing students to practice a variety of extrication techniques in a controlled and realistic environment.

The space is structured to promote safe tool use, scene management and teamwork while simulating real-world emergency scenarios. This setup provides flexibility for simultaneous training evolutions, maximizing efficiency and skill development for participants.

Fire Behavior Lab (Flashover Trainer)

The Fire Behavior Lab allows students to observe fire behavior in various stages of burning. From the incipient stage through a flashover, the lab provides valuable hands-on experience that exposes the class to the warning signs of potentially disastrous fire behavior.

The lab allows students to witness, interact with and learn techniques to prevent and control fire behavior and to do so in a safe and controlled environment. The lab is mobile and can be brought to your agency for training purposes.

Live Propane BLEVE Simulator

The Center features a 1,100-square-foot stationary simulator for individuals to replicate various Liquid Petroleum Gas emergency scenarios involving common storage containers for residential and commercial use.

The fuel tank is equipped with Liquid Petroleum Gas burners that simulate vapor and liquid vent fires for training in a safe approach with a hose line, cooling and extinguishing of flammable liquid fires.

The simulator will allow individuals to conduct a variety of fuel tank burn scenarios, including the control of a fire through the use of streaming water at the point of flame impingement.

Such training practices will enable individuals to learn about preventative measures to minimize the risk of a fuel tank explosion.

Additionally, the 500-gallon stationary fuel tank fire simulator features the latest in safety precautions. The training prop is electrically fueled and controlled by an underground Liquid Petroleum Gas line and is designed to provide comprehensive, repeatable training applications such as apparatus placement, hose advancement, extinguishment and overhaul.

Car Fire Simulator

The car fire simulator allows students to experience various live fire scenarios involving a motor vehicle.

The prop is equipped with Liquid Petroleum gas burners that simulate an engine compartment fire, passenger compartment fire and a fuel tank BLEVE, along with various other live fire conditions.

The unit is controlled via an operator at a computer panel and is designed for safety. Training will allow students to exercise various tactics in cooling, approaching, searching and extinguishing a car-based fire.

Roof Ventilating System

Our ground-level multi-pitched roof ventilation training system is designed to allow students to have the opportunity to “sound” and vent a roof using various types of equipment and techniques.

The simulator can be changed to reflect various materials and construction types to add a challenge and encourage the development of critical-thinking skills.

Safety is a priority in this training prop and is the reason it is contained within a safety railing and located just a few feet above ground level.

Emergency Vehicle Operations and Driving Course

The 80-acre skills pad serves as an area for first responders to conduct an array of driving techniques within a controlled road environment.

The training site consists of 1.2 miles of driving track and two skills pads. The driving track is connected to a 276-foot by 740-foot skills pad, while a 300-foot by 50-foot skills pad is adjacent to the driving area.

The three driving areas offer individuals the opportunity to receive hands-on instruction and scenario training to sharpen their driving skills, preventing and reducing the severity of potential collisions and accidents.

The skills pad allows first responders to practice a variety of driving techniques within police cruisers, fire trucks, ambulances, and corporate vehicles, including controlled braking, off-road recovery, evasive maneuvers, parallel parking, handling curves, skid control and anti-lock brake system training.

Individuals can also conduct training exercises in simulated adverse weather conditions, as well as practice various training scenarios, such as traffic stops, traffic pursuits and emergency rescues.