stevekaw
08-01-2006, 12:23
High-dollar facility will give county's finest an accurate depiction of upholding law and order
By: MARGARET GIBBONS, Times Herald Staff
07/31/2006
(http://www.timesherald.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1672&dept_id=33380&newsid=16987386)
COURTHOUSE - The Montgomery County law enforcement community will have a state-of-the-art regional weapons training facility to refine their skills when construction wraps up in the fall of 2007.
However, it will not be the firing range initially envisioned by the county police chiefs association when they first put forth the proposal more than five years ago.
That's because "state of the art" has changed since that time and because those involved in the project, as they spent the additional time learning the nuts-and-bolts of firing ranges, realized it is not as simple as just putting up targets for people to fire away at, according to county Public Property Director Andy Gulotta.
"There are health, safety and environmental concerns to consider," said Gulotta, who has been spearheading the project since the county took it over.
One of the most noticeable components that will be missing from the project will be the proposed Hogan's Alley façade town with its Hollywood set-like buildings and programmable characters popping up and jumping out to provide for more realistic training scenarios.
In researching the issue, Gulotta said, he discovered that far more land was needed for a Hogan's Alley than the one-acre that the county set aside for the project on the grounds of the fire training academy in Plymouth.
Also, he said, most Hogan Alley facilities are outdoors and there is an air and ground pollution problem with lead contamination, according to Gulotta.
Because of potential pollution problems, the entire range will be enclosed, said Gulotta.
But, he emphasized, the county range will be challenging.
The targets will have "good guys" on one side and "bad guys" on the other. Neither side will be visible to the shooter until a computer software program begins flipping them.
Also, a "running person" target will be available, traversing back and forth across the range area. One of the innovations at the facility is the mechanism to control this target, said Gulotta.
In the past, facilities were built with that mechanism in the floor.
"It was always getting shot up and parts would have to be replaced or repaired," said Gulotta, adding that the county facility's mechanism for the target will be in the ceiling and protected by a steel girder.
This was done at the recommendation of Bill Metcalf, who oversees federal law enforcement training centers and consulted with the county on this project.
"He is the expert that experts recommend," said Gulotta, noting that the county has consulted with the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, the federal Department of Homeland Security, Pennsylvania State Police and Delaware State Police.
The original proposal also did not include gun-cleaning rooms where shooters went after using the range to clean their weapons.
Two gun-cleaning rooms, with sealed floors, walls and ceilings have been added to the plans, right down to a sticky mat where shooters clean off the bottoms of their shoes to prevent lead contamination as they leave the area.
While there is copper-type ammunition used at some ranges to eliminate lead contamination, Gulotta said it as important for law enforcement agents "to practice with the ammunition that they use on a daily basis."
To protect the health of the shooters and eliminate air pollution on the outside, a multi-million dollar air circulation and ventilation system using HEPA filters will be installed, according to Gulotta.
Potential users of the facility include 52 municipal police departments, totaling 1,600 officers, 115 county deputies, 33 county detectives and county prison guards (243 are required to quality this year).
The primary weapons that will be used at the facility include rifles (M14, Mini-14, M16, AR 15, 308, M1 and M4), 12-gauge shotguns, 9 mm and 45-caliber automatic weapons, 357 and 38-caliber revolvers and pistols (9 mm, 40-caliber, 45-caliber).
The range portion of the 24,300-square-foot facility, which will also house a 3,225-square-foot administrative-classroom area, includes 15 50-yard pistol lanes (12,307 square feet) and five 100-yard rifle ranges (8,465 square feet).
However, the facility is not just a shooting range, which explains its designation as a "tactical response training center."
Law enforcement officials will train with other members of the first-response community including firefighters, emergency medical personnel and public safety officials to respond to situations such as weapons of mass destruction incidents and other possible terrorism scenarios, mass transit and school bus incidents, officer-down rescues and shootings involving car stops, carjackings, kidnappings and assaults.
"There is a buzz on the street about this facility," said Gulotta, adding that it likely will serve as a model for other potential regional training facilities.
The project carries an estimated price tag of about $10 million, with almost $4 million earmarked to outfit the facility with targets and the like.
The county hopes to award construction contracts within the next month and have the facility operational by September 2007.
http://www.timesherald.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16987386&BRD=1672&PAG=461&dept_id=33380&rfi=6
Margaret Gibbons can be reached at mgibbons@timesherald.com or 610-272-2501 ext. 216.
By: MARGARET GIBBONS, Times Herald Staff
07/31/2006
(http://www.timesherald.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1672&dept_id=33380&newsid=16987386)
COURTHOUSE - The Montgomery County law enforcement community will have a state-of-the-art regional weapons training facility to refine their skills when construction wraps up in the fall of 2007.
However, it will not be the firing range initially envisioned by the county police chiefs association when they first put forth the proposal more than five years ago.
That's because "state of the art" has changed since that time and because those involved in the project, as they spent the additional time learning the nuts-and-bolts of firing ranges, realized it is not as simple as just putting up targets for people to fire away at, according to county Public Property Director Andy Gulotta.
"There are health, safety and environmental concerns to consider," said Gulotta, who has been spearheading the project since the county took it over.
One of the most noticeable components that will be missing from the project will be the proposed Hogan's Alley façade town with its Hollywood set-like buildings and programmable characters popping up and jumping out to provide for more realistic training scenarios.
In researching the issue, Gulotta said, he discovered that far more land was needed for a Hogan's Alley than the one-acre that the county set aside for the project on the grounds of the fire training academy in Plymouth.
Also, he said, most Hogan Alley facilities are outdoors and there is an air and ground pollution problem with lead contamination, according to Gulotta.
Because of potential pollution problems, the entire range will be enclosed, said Gulotta.
But, he emphasized, the county range will be challenging.
The targets will have "good guys" on one side and "bad guys" on the other. Neither side will be visible to the shooter until a computer software program begins flipping them.
Also, a "running person" target will be available, traversing back and forth across the range area. One of the innovations at the facility is the mechanism to control this target, said Gulotta.
In the past, facilities were built with that mechanism in the floor.
"It was always getting shot up and parts would have to be replaced or repaired," said Gulotta, adding that the county facility's mechanism for the target will be in the ceiling and protected by a steel girder.
This was done at the recommendation of Bill Metcalf, who oversees federal law enforcement training centers and consulted with the county on this project.
"He is the expert that experts recommend," said Gulotta, noting that the county has consulted with the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, the federal Department of Homeland Security, Pennsylvania State Police and Delaware State Police.
The original proposal also did not include gun-cleaning rooms where shooters went after using the range to clean their weapons.
Two gun-cleaning rooms, with sealed floors, walls and ceilings have been added to the plans, right down to a sticky mat where shooters clean off the bottoms of their shoes to prevent lead contamination as they leave the area.
While there is copper-type ammunition used at some ranges to eliminate lead contamination, Gulotta said it as important for law enforcement agents "to practice with the ammunition that they use on a daily basis."
To protect the health of the shooters and eliminate air pollution on the outside, a multi-million dollar air circulation and ventilation system using HEPA filters will be installed, according to Gulotta.
Potential users of the facility include 52 municipal police departments, totaling 1,600 officers, 115 county deputies, 33 county detectives and county prison guards (243 are required to quality this year).
The primary weapons that will be used at the facility include rifles (M14, Mini-14, M16, AR 15, 308, M1 and M4), 12-gauge shotguns, 9 mm and 45-caliber automatic weapons, 357 and 38-caliber revolvers and pistols (9 mm, 40-caliber, 45-caliber).
The range portion of the 24,300-square-foot facility, which will also house a 3,225-square-foot administrative-classroom area, includes 15 50-yard pistol lanes (12,307 square feet) and five 100-yard rifle ranges (8,465 square feet).
However, the facility is not just a shooting range, which explains its designation as a "tactical response training center."
Law enforcement officials will train with other members of the first-response community including firefighters, emergency medical personnel and public safety officials to respond to situations such as weapons of mass destruction incidents and other possible terrorism scenarios, mass transit and school bus incidents, officer-down rescues and shootings involving car stops, carjackings, kidnappings and assaults.
"There is a buzz on the street about this facility," said Gulotta, adding that it likely will serve as a model for other potential regional training facilities.
The project carries an estimated price tag of about $10 million, with almost $4 million earmarked to outfit the facility with targets and the like.
The county hopes to award construction contracts within the next month and have the facility operational by September 2007.
http://www.timesherald.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16987386&BRD=1672&PAG=461&dept_id=33380&rfi=6
Margaret Gibbons can be reached at mgibbons@timesherald.com or 610-272-2501 ext. 216.