"Public safety has been a priority of our administration for the past eight years and this announcement is another step toward keeping Iowans secure," said Vilsack. "The investment of state government resources in training centers, along with locally generated financial support, will save lives by ensuring that our dedicated emergency responders have the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to protect Iowans from a broad range of threats."
In the final days of the 2006 legislative session, the Iowa General Assembly overwhelming approved HF 2782, the infrastructure appropriations bill, which included an appropriation of $4.3 million to create an integrated network of 11 Regional Emergency Response Training Centers. The bill was signed into law on May 31, 2006, by Gov. Vilsack.
Under the terms of the bill, certain community colleges are designated as "lead public agencies," and the bill also designates "partner agencies" that will participate with lead agencies to construct and operate training centers.
As a condition of receiving state funding, the training centers must agree to certain terms and conditions, including a requirement to teach courses approved by the Department of Public Safety's Fire Service Training Bureau. Additionally, the bill contains accountability provisions that require detailed reporting on training operations and the use of state funds.
"The emergency response training partnerships between the state, community colleges, and local fire service agencies will bring the highest quality curriculum, instruction, and training facilities directly to Iowa's emergency responders," said Vilsack. "Improving access to training will allow Iowa's emergency responders to increase their proficiency in basic skills and acquire specialized knowledge and abilities."
"The vision for a regional system for training firefighters and other emergency responders has been under discussion for several years, but the framework for this regional system needed to be developed from scratch," said Vilsack, "I applaud the Iowa General Assembly for crafting a superb 'hub and spoke' system, in which the state's Fire Service Training Bureau will play an important role coordinating and supporting the activities of the regional training centers."
"The investment of state resources in regional training facilities will change the landscape of public safety in Iowa for decades to come," said Vilsack, "We are proud of our emergency responders and the fine job they do, and we must continue to ensure that they have all the training and experience they need to keep Iowans safe."
Tthe Iowa Department of Public Safety, Fire Marshal Division, Fire Service Training Bureau, approved applications for emergency response training centers submitted by the following applicants:
Northeast Iowa Community College in partnership with the Dubuque County Firemen's Association: $150,000 in allocated funds
North Iowa Area Community College in partnership with the Mason City Fire Department: $400,000 in allocated funds
Iowa Lakes Community College: $400,000 in allocated funds
Iowa Central Community College: $400,000 in allocated funds
Hawkeye Community College in partnership with the Waterloo Regional Hazardous Materials Training Center: $150,000 in allocated funds
Eastern Iowa Community College in partnership with the City of Davenport Fire Department: $400,000 in allocated funds
Kirkwood Community College in partnership with the City of Coralville fire department and the Iowa City Fire Department: $400,000 in allocated funds
Des Moines Area Community College: $400,000 in allocated funds
Western Iowa Technical Community College in partnership with the Sioux City Fire Department: $400,000 in allocated funds
Iowa Western Community College in partnership with Southwestern Community College and the Council Bluffs fire department: $500,000 in allocated funds, $150,000 in competitive funds
Southeastern Iowa Community College in partnership with Indian Hills Community College and the City of Fort Madison fire department: $400,000 in allocated funds, $150,000 in competitive funds
