The Multi Agency
Academic Cooperative (MAAC) Foundation will host an official ribbon cutting
and grand opening ceremony from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at the
site of the new Emergency Services Training Academy, 4203 Montdale Park
Drive in Valparaiso.
Live fire training
demonstrations and tours will be offered from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.
The MAAC Emergency
Services Training Campus will support thousands of fire, law enforcement and
EMS personnel throughout Porter, Lake, LaPorte, Jasper and Newton counties.
The MAAC campus
includes a 40-foot search and rescue tower, a two-story live burn building,
a flashover unit, a two-story residential training structure, ventilation
and forcible entry training structure, rescue technique drafting pond,
vehicle extrication pad, ventilation and forcible entry structure, fire
extinguisher and propane teaching areas, indoor training space, and
classrooms.
“We have developed
a state-of-the-art campus that will serve as a leading provider of safety,
emergency preparedness, and response training throughout our region,” said
Celina Weatherwax, president of the McMillan Family Foundation. “The MAAC is
an incredible asset for Northwest Indiana’s deserving public safety
community.”
Special guests will
include Bryan Langley, executive director of the Indiana Department of
Homeland; State Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, and State Rep. Ed Soliday,
R-Valparaiso.