Harper College is closed Friday, July 3, for Independence Day (Observed).
The Emergency Services Training Center prepares the next generation of first responders and addresses the evolving training needs of local fire departments. The training tower is designed to deliver hands-on, real-world training for both Harper students pursuing fire science degrees and career first responders seeking to enhance their skills with modern training props, live fire areas and simulation technology. Students, faculty and participants use the adjacent classroom building to prepare for simulations and debrief afterward.
Harper College has also established the Fire Training Academy, which provides structured training and certification for new and aspiring firefighters while offering ongoing professional development and advanced certification programs for career firefighters in the region.
Building Letter: The Emergency Services Training Center is Building Q.
Location: On the northwest side of campus, near parking lot 11.
Training Tower: The 4-story, flexible facility simulates a variety of situations that first responders encounter including:
Classroom Building: The adjacent single-story classroom building provides students, faculty and other participants a place to prepare for simulations and debrief afterward.
Sustainability: While the training tower is an unoccupied structure that doesn’t qualify for LEED certification, sustainable features include concrete pavement for durability and to reduce heat island effect; stormwater runoff best practices including native and adaptive plantings, rain gardens and bioswales; and use of local materials with high recycled content. The classroom building uses reflective roof surfaces; energy efficient heating and cooling systems; low-flow plumbing fixtures; and LED lighting.
Funding: The Emergency Services Training Center was financed through the college’s Operations and Maintenance Fund and a $1 million SAFE Tech Federal Grant, which helps fund technology, equipment and training programs.
Programs: The center enables new courses and enhancements to current public service programs, such as:
Students in the Law Enforcement and Justice Administration and Drone Technology programs are also using the space to enhance the student learning experience.
Theatrical smoke: Natural gas-fed burn props produce flame and heat inside the building. Smoke is simulated through smoke machines, much like you'd see on stage at a performance. This non-toxic, water-based theater smoke dissipates into the air upon exiting the building.
Norm Bemis, coordinator of Harper’s Fire Science Technology program (from left); James Meyer, trustee; Bill Kelley, board chair; Dr. Avis Proctor, Harper College president; Scott Mackeben, chief of the Palatine Fire Department; Walt Mundt, trustee; Pat Stack, trustee; and Dr. Joanne Ivory, dean of Career and Technical Programs; celebrated the opening of Harper's new Emergency Services Training Center.
Harper's new Emergency Services Training Center includes 9,040 square feet of indoor training space, spread across four floors that are able to simulate a wide range of emergency situations.
The Emergency Services Training Center is designed to replicate real-world environments, including a bedroom in a single-family home (pictured), a kitchen, an apartment corridor and a high-rise building. The facility features modern training props, live fire areas and simulation technology.
Attendees of the ribbon-cutting ceremony take a walkthrough of the Training Tower to learn about its different areas and features.
Students from Harper's Fire Science Technology program listen to a lecture in one of the Emergency Service Training Center's brand new classrooms.
Students from Harper's Fire Science Technology program get real experience in the Training Tower where they practice handling situations as first responders.
As a way to strengthen Harper’s relationship with the community, the Emergency Services Training Center is open to local fire departments for use. Here, the Rolling Meadows Fire Department visits to conduct required training.
Aerial from the northwest
Aerial from the southwest
Classroom building and training tower
Harper College has opened its $9.3 million, 9,040-square-foot Emergency Services Training Center -- including a prominent four-story burn tower for regional firefighter training -- in a project decades in the making. Read the Daily Herald Article
Harper College has opened its $9.3 million, 9,040-square-foot Emergency Services Training Center -- including a prominent four-story burn tower for regional firefighter training -- in a project decades in the making. Read the Daily Herald Article
The state-of-the-art center will be home to Harper College’s new Fire Academy, delivering immersive training for students and career firefighters. Read More
Harper College in Palatine is adding a $9.3 million emergency services training center long sought by local fire departments. The 9,040-square-foot facility will educate aspiring firefighters and provide continuing professional development to current firefighters. Read the Daily Herald Article
Harper College has broken ground on a center and fire tower that will educate students and provide training for regional firefighters. The college is also establishing the Fire Training Academy for both aspiring and career firefighters. Read More
Project background: Firefighters must make split-second decisions in the middle of hectic, life-or-death situations. This skill is honed through practical simulation in a controlled training center, which previously required area first responders to drive 50 or more miles away to the nearest facility. Harper College’s Fire Science Technology program has long been recognized as one of the top academic programs for firefighters in Illinois. So, when the leaders of northwest suburban fire departments identified the need for a training facility closer to home, Harper’s campus was a natural fit. Harper leaders and area fire chiefs grew the idea of a campus facility that would provide hands-on, real-world training for both students and career first responders. Harper has also established a Fire Training Academy to provide structured training and certification for new and aspiring firefighters while offering ongoing professional development and advanced certification programs for career firefighters in the region.
Groundbreaking
Mobilization / Construction
Substantial completion
Center opens / Ready for training
The information on this page is subject to change.
Have a question about construction on campus? Please use this contact form to submit any questions or feedback.