Carbon County Commissioner Wayne Nothstein and Sheriff Dan Zeigler present a check to Sharon Alexander, CCCF President, to establish the new Carbon County Emergency Operations & Training Center Fund.
At a press conference on Wednesday morning, representatives from the county’s Emergency Response agencies announced the launch of the Carbon County Emergency Operations & Training Center Fund at the Community Foundation, which will support operations and activities at the new Training Center in Nesquehoning.
The new facility, which is currently under construction, will allow for hands-on training opportunities for Carbon County’s Fire, Police, Emergency Medical Services, and Emergency Management members from Carbon County and surrounding areas. It will feature a four-story fire training structure built to simulate a variety of potential emergency scenarios; three burn training areas; towers for high-angle rescues; laddering for four stories; automatic sprinkler simulation; as well as configured small access places where firefighters have to craw through to rescue victims. There will also be a 1.5 story police training structure with a 2-story observation center.
Individuals who are members of any of the county’s emergency agencies have to take 120 hours of essential training as well as additional courses where they conduct actual tactical operations. Prior to this facility being constructed, volunteers needed to travel to counties outside of Carbon County to receive the necessary training.
The Carbon County Emergency Operations & Training Center Fund will support the Training Center and volunteers through grants for:
- Utility expenses (propane, electric, etc)
- Equipment purchases, repairs, and upgrades
- Training expenses, instructor fees, and materials
- Building repairs, maintenance, and any other assorted expenses
The fund was established with a gift from the Carbon County Firemen’s Association and from Commissioner Wayne Nothstein.  Interested community members can join them in contributing to the Carbon County Emergency Operations & Training Center Fund in several ways. In addition to traditional cash donations, the Community Foundation is equipped to accept gifts of stock or other real property, charitable distributions from IRAs (for those 70 ½ years or older), and charitable gift annuities or trusts.  Donors may opt for recognition or anonymity and can arrange to make a gift now or beyond their lifetime as part of a will or estate plan. All gifts to the fund are tax-deductible to the fullest extent.
Committee members have set an initial fundraising goal of $100,000, with the hopes of turning the fund into a quasi-endowment that will support the facility for generations into the future.
