Collin College and local officials cut the ribbon on the Public Safety Training Center in McKinney. Pictured from left are: Fire Science Academy Director Pat McAuliff, Collin College Board of Trustees member Dr. Raj Menon, McKinney Fire Chief Danny Kistner, Trustee Dr. Stacey Donald, McKinney Police Chief Greg Conley, Trustee Fred Moses, Texas Rep. Scott Sanford, Board of Trustees Chairman Dr. J. Robert Collins, Collin College President Dr. Neil Matkin, Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey, Allen Mayor Stephen Terrell, McKinney Mayor George Fuller, Law Enforcement Academy Director Scott Donaldson, Trustee Andrew Hardin and Trustee Steve Matthews. The ribbon cutters are flanked by Collin College Law Enforcement Academy and Fire Science Academy cadets.
September 28, 2018 – Collin College celebrated the opening of the Public Safety Training Center, a 25-acre first responder training facility, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house, Sept. 28. The center provides reality-based training for Collin College’s law enforcement and fire science academies and active public safety personnel. Classes are already underway.
Built in cooperation with the cities of McKinney and Allen, the 128,000-square-foot center is one of the most advanced public safety training facilities in North Texas.
“The Public Safety Training Center has the opportunity to be a focal point for first responder training in Collin County,” said Collin College District President Dr. Neil Matkin. “Designed to be responsive to the needs of modern firefighting and law enforcement training, the PSTC will be a valuable resource for preparing our students and emergency response personnel for the situations they will encounter while protecting the public and its property.”
Firefighter training facilities include two multi-story, customizable burn buildings featuring controllable natural gas fire systems. A two-story building with attached garage and carport allows for multiple residential fire scenarios, roof ventilation, and search and rescue A second five-story building with convertible retail spaces allows for training in unique scenarios including high-rise fires, warehouse fires, dumpster fires, high-angle rescues and situations when rappelling may be required. Other training options at the PSTC include a vehicle extraction pad, a civilian aircraft fire training area, designated areas for hazardous material incidents training, a trench and confined space rescue building, and roof ventilation obstacles.
The Law Enforcement Academy section of the facility includes a reality-based training area with modular walls designed to simulate storefronts, a school, a bank, homes and other facades, allowing cadets and active law enforcement personnel to work through real-world situations before they are encountered on the streets. Training scenarios can be tailored to recreate specific situations for training purposes. The PSTC also houses two 50-yard firearms ranges and one 100-yard range, with individual monitoring stations and state-of-the-art ventilation systems, as well as a dedicated defensive tactics room with padded walls and flooring.
The home to Collin College’s firefighter and law enforcement academies, the PSTC has multiple traditional classrooms and can provide cross-training opportunities between first responder groups so that all emergency personnel develop an awareness of the other’s responsibilities.
“We firmly believe that this center will make our communities safer,” Dr. J. Robert Collins, Collin College founding trustee and board chairman, said. “Not only does it provide a comprehensive training atmosphere for our academy cadets, but police and fire departments throughout Collin County and the surrounding area will have access to these innovative facilities closer to home.”
The Public Safety Training Center is located at 3600 Redbud Boulevard in McKinney, allowing public safety agencies throughout the county to train near the cities that they serve. The location makes training more convenient and cost-effective, while allowing departments to quickly respond to emergencies that may occur in their service area while training.
Collin College’s Fire Science Academy offers an associate of applied science for basic firefighter certification, a basic firefighter certificate, an associate of applied science for fire officer certification and a fire officer certificate. The Collin College Law Enforcement Academy offers a basic peace officer certification, a basic correctional officer state licensure course and a basic telecommunicator state licensure course. Both the Fire Science Academy and the Law Enforcement Academy also offer continuing education courses for local, state and federal public safety employees.
Collin College serves more than 55,000 credit and continuing education students annually and offers more than 100 degrees and certificates. The only public college in the county, Collin College is a partner to business, government and industry, providing customized training and work force development. In addition, the college operates the Collin Higher Education Center, which serves 3,200 additional students each year in partnership with The University of Texas at Dallas, Texas Woman’s University, Texas A&M Commerce, Texas Tech and the University of North Texas.
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