Midwest City opens $5.5M training facility for police, fire dept.
MIDWEST CITY, Okla. (KFOR) – A voter-approved multi-million dollar police and fire training center is now open in Midwest City.
This facility is years in the making. It’s a big and important investment in the safety of the city and its first responders.
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Nestled in the heart of Midwest City is the brand new state of the art facility for those who serve the community.
“To us it’s state of the art,” said MWC Fire Chief Bert Norton.
This new $5.5 million training center was approved by voters in 2018.
It took some time to find the right location, but they eventually did and began construction on the three acres of land near southeast 15th and Douglas.
“We can have our crews from out east and out west come in to train and they can still make an adequate response time out for service,” said Asst. Police Chief Greg Wipfli.
The facility also removes a barrier the department previously faced. It’s no taller than the tallest building in town and designed to mirror structures in the city.
“We were able to design the apartment complex to have the three doors at the bottom, the stairs to go to the top and the landing and the three doors at the top,” Norton said.
Both departments believe it will be a good recruiting tool and say it’s a testament to Midwest City’s leadership and residents.
“The employees that work here in Midwest City and the people,” said Police Chef Sid Porter. “They back us 100% and we’re very blessed because a lot of communities don’t have that. That’s why when people come here they don’t leave. They retire.”
The fire department has already started training firefighters at the facility.
The grand opening was held this week because it’s National Fire Prevention Week.
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