NEWS
MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
COURT HOUSE, NORRISTOWN, PA., BOX 311, 19404-0311
PHONE (610) 278-3061 FAX 278-5943
COMMISSIONERS:
THOMAS JAY ELLIS, ESQ. Chairman, JAMES R. MATTHEWS , RUTH S. DAMSKER
RELEASE: IMMEDIATELY 09/21/07 PR#06-42
Montgomery County Tactical Response Training Center Grand Opening
CONSHOHOCKEN — The Montgomery County Commissioners dedicated the county’s new Tactical Response Training Center with a bang last week.
After cutting the ceremonial ribbon, the Commissioners took up positions on the firing line in one of the center’s enormous ranges and sent the first bullets into targets. Well, most of the rounds hit the targets.
The 23,000-square-foot weapons and anti-terrorism training facility cost $10.8 million to build and is unique to the region. Located at the Montgomery County Public Safety Campus in Conshohocken, the training center has fifteen 50-yard lanes and five 100-yard lanes for practicing both maximum distance and close-in with firearms.
Each range includes two targeting systems, a spinning “good-guy/bad-guy” system for split-second timing training and another for tracking moving “running man” objects.
Most importantly, the building is large enough that firefighters, emergency technicians, hazardous materials handlers and bomb disposal crews can train in tandem with police for a variety of disaster scenarios.
“In anything, being prepared is the only way to succeed,” Commissioners Chairman Thomas Jay Ellis said.
“If a disaster strikes, whether it’s natural or man-made, our police, fire and EMS personnel will be prepared to protect our families,” Ellis said. “Saving lives, that’s what this building is all about.”
The County will make the facility available to the 1,500 law enforcement officers that operate within our borders first and open it to other agencies in the region on an as-available basis.
State and federal money, combined with private donations raised by the County’s Police Chiefs Association, paid a portion of the costs. The County will pay the remaining $7.4 million.
Former state Rep. Lita Cohen, Commissioners Chairman Thomas Jay Ellis, Commissioner Ruth S. Damsker and Commissioner James R. Matthews cut the ribbon on the new Tactical Response Training Center.
Commissioner James R. Matthews prepares to fire the first shots in one of the the newly opened Tactical Response Training Center's firing ranges.
