What’s inside new Sioux Falls public safety training center

A new 42-acre campus dedicated to public safety training broke ground today, with the goal of being done in about two years.

“I guarantee you in two years we’re going to be very excited to see the product that we have,” Fire Chief Matt McAreavey said at today’s groundbreaking. “What we’re going to be able to experience … is truly going to elevate our performance and drive the response we’re able to provide for our community.”

Here’s what to expect:

Where it is

The campus is being developed along 60th Street North at Sycamore Avenue, with 100,000 square feet of training facilities.

What it includes

There will be a lot happening on this campus, with multiple facilities and training areas.

Administration/training/dispatch facility with approximately 40,000 square feet

This will include administrative offices, classroom space, a structurally reinforced dispatch center known as a PSAP, or public safety answering point, serving Sioux Falls and Minnehaha County.

The facility also is designed to serve as an emergency operations center to serve as a multiagency base of operations in managing the response to natural disasters and other such events.

Fire training structures with approximately 23,000 square feet

Burn towers and structures replicating residential and commercial building styles commonly found in this area will create a realistic and dynamic training ground for first responders.

Front-line fire and police personnel will keep their skills and instincts sharp in a scenario village where crews train in an ever-changing environment of real-world conditions.

Firearms training building with approximately 17,750 square feet

This training facility provides 15 lanes for live-fire firearms training. The facility will be equipped with light and sound control to create real-world training conditions.

Emergency vehicle operations course/skills pad with track and pad covering about 13 acres

This will be a large paved course where fire/EMS apparatus drivers and police officers hone vehicle driving skills, vehicle safety, vehicle pursuit tactics and other scenarios.

Storage and maintenance building with approximately 17,600 square feet

This facility with two vehicle maintenance and five apparatus storage bays also will include training equipment storage, outdoor classrooms and related support space.

What will happen here

In addition to serving the growing needs of Metro Communications dispatchers with resources in a leading-edge facility, this campus will be one of the largest of its kind in the Midwest.

From cadets achieving initial certification to seasoned public safety personnel elevating their training and skills, the campus will prepare them through classroom learning and tactical training. The same is true of first responders from other regional agencies who will use the campus.

“We are a gold standard of how things should be done in the public safety realm,” Police Chief Jon Thum said. “What we’re doing right now is building for the future, building for our replacements to to carry our city into the next era of its legacy and to maintain that outstanding public safety.”