FINDLAY, Ohio — A three-year project to improve emergency response training in Hancock County is finally fully funded and ready to wrap up in the fall.
Announced in January 2020, the Simulated Tactical Response and Incident Command Training -- STRICT -- Center aims to give first responders in Hancock County a one-stop shop for vital training.
At Tuesday's Findlay City Council meeting, the final $884,600 of the city's portion of the project was approved.
The facility is not just for Findlay and outlying departments but for all first responders in northwest Ohio and beyond.
"What we need and the barriers that we have for effective training are the same barriers that everybody else has," Findlay fire chief Josh Eberle said. "So, we've got a lot of interest from other training agencies that want to come and use the facility to host classes. I expect it to very quickly become a regional training destination."
Findlay mayor Christina Muryn said the STRICT Center is an opportunity for regional development and that regional entities like the Ohio Fire Marshall's office are interested in utilizing the facility.
On Wednesday, the Kiwanis Club of Findlay presented the city with an additional $15,000 donation for the project.
This money from Kiwanis will go toward building a "Search House" that will feature a modular floor plan with moveable walls and doors that can be changed between training sessions.
"When you get into a limited visibility situation with a lot of that fake smoke, those things really make a difference," Eberle said. "You don't want to go in and know the floor plan or the layout because you don't learn as much that way."
Eberle said the steel training building should be completed near the end of summer, the Burn Building coming in August and the whole facility up and running by mid to late fall.