New Fire Training Facility A Part Of MPTC’s $55-Million Referendum

(Beaver Dam) If it’s approved by voters, Moraine Park Technical College’s $55-million-dollar referendum could bring a new fire training facility to Dodge County. College President Bonnie Baerwald detailed the project during a recent appearance in WBEV’s Community Comment.

“It will be about a 14,000-square foot addition…it would give us the opportunity to train not only firefighters but EMS/paramedics and a brand new fire/medic program that we are looking to roll out next fall,” says Baerwald.

Baerwald says there will likely be a three-story fire training tower as well and a dry-pond to practice underwater and frozen ice rescues. The Beaver Dam campus currently houses the College’s fire training equipment, which Baerwald says is outdated.

“But the facilities don’t really meet the advanced demands of the fire departments today,” says Baerwald. “We have right now a very small mobile trailer that we use for some confined fire burn training and then we also have a very small fire training tower. So again, we want to make sure that we build a facility that meets the needs of everybody that we currently serve.”

Baerwald says MPTC is still in discussions with local leaders to identify a specific property to construct this new facility on. She says it must meet the needs of both the College and the community.

“We have been meeting with various leaders since spring…including leaders here in Beaver Dam…we just didn’t land on a location that made since for the both of us,” says Baerwald. “But we are really interested in a parcel that’s somewhat centrally located within our district. Right now, we’re negotiating with a potential opportunity in the city of Horicon.”

The fire training facility project includes an estimated cost of $9.3-million-dollars. A combined $27-million-dollars would go towards updating the Fond du Lac campus’ manufacturing and trades wing as well as its health and human services facility. Another project would see roughly $18.5-million-dollars spent on building a 46,000 square foot addition for its welding and fabrication program at the West Bend campus.

Click HERE for more information about MPTC’s referendum.