BUTLER TWP - It hardly seems like it's been three years since the dream became a reality.

But for the 33,000 emergency services personnel who have passed through its doors, the Butler County Community College Public Safety Training Facility is real.

"In some ways it feels that long ago, but in others, it doesn't," said Ben Cypher, the fire center's chief coordinator.

The fire center was a 30-plus-year dream in the making, which finally arrived June 7, 2002.The Butler County Fire Chiefs Association, along with BC3, worked to get the building erected and operational.The $2.5 million facility was made possible through a $1 million federal grant secured by state Sen. Mary Jo White, R-21st, as well as $500,000 from BC3. The fire chiefs raised the remaining $1 million.BC3's funding paid for a concrete pad strong enough to hold the buildings and equipment, as well as a retention pond used by firefighters and other EMS workers during training at the site.More than $500,000 in equipment was donated to the facility by Mine Safety Appliance, with other equipment being bought over the years through grant money from various sources.The facility now has two tanker trucks and a ladder truck, thanks to donations from fire departments.It also has a burn building and a railroad car and simulated track to be used for hazardous materials fires and accident training.

Looking back on the past three years, Cypher said he is pleased with how the facility has progressed."I think we expanded here a lot faster than anyone thought we would," Cypher said. "And I think we've done an amazing job with what we have."The facility has seen emergency personnel from all across Pennsylvania as well as neighboring Ohio, West Virginia and New York, Cypher said.Instructors who have used the facility also have been pleased.Chris Calhoun, a natural science and technology professor at BC3, uses the retention pond at the facility regularly for training for his students."In the past, I would have to transport equipment and students to either a private local pond or Moraine State Park for ice rescue training," Calhoun said. "Transporting equipment and students was always a logistical and time consuming process."Using private facilities also brought the concern for liability should there be an accident while he or his students were using them, Calhoun said."Special agreements had to be established prior to any training taking place at either site," he said. "This process could take a month or more of administrative work between insurance companies and government agencies ... just so we could use their facility for one day of training."Cutting large holes in the ice, especially at Moraine State Park, also was a concern, Calhoun said, because the public uses the area as well."We would clearly identify and secure the hole before we left the training site, but I was always concerned that someone would venture close to the barriers and possibly fall in."With the retention pond on campus behind the fire center, all of those concerns have been eliminated, Calhoun said."There is no more transporting students 30 minutes to another site," he said. "I can hook onto my cargo trailer and transport the equipment to the pond within one minute."Other benefits of the on-site facility are a concrete pad that can be used as a staging area and immediate access to the public safety building for classrooms, restrooms and warming areas, Calhoun said."I still place barriers on the ice around the open hole, but the entire complex has a fence around it, making it easier to secure when not in use," Calhoun said.

While he's not surprised by the popularity of the facility, Cypher acknowledges improvements must now be considered to keep the programs up-to-date.Part of getting updated is getting some much-needed equipment, which can be costly."People are not aware of the financial burden involved with starting a fire department, and we need all the same equipment here that a fire department uses," Cypher said. "All that equipment is costly."Brian Opitz, BC3's physical plant services director, said the college has applied for funding from various sources to help expand the facility and its programs."Pending on what kind of funding we get, it will affect how we can expand," Opitz said. "We've pretty much filled up out there in the three years we've been here."Susan Changnon, a BC3 spokeswoman, said college officials hope to expand the physical building itself to help accommodate the popularity of classes being offered there.Cypher said the curriculum and programs currently offered are being reviewed to see if anything needs to be updated or added to what is offered.