Law enforcement officials broke ground on a new emergency vehicle training facility in New Castle Tuesday.
After relying on empty parking lots and stop-gap solutions, Delaware first responders will have a permanent place for vehicle training.
“We’ve been nomads for many years. One of the most critical responsibilities that we have as first responders is the safe operation of the vehicles,” New Castle County Public Safety Director Vaughn Bond said.
Bond said annually more police officers are killed in the line of duty in vehicle related accidents than from gunshot wounds.
“You’re operating your lights, your sirens, you’re talking on the radio. And you have to be able to do all of that sometimes at a high rate of speed. In order to get proficient at that we need to have the ongoing training,” Vaughn said.
Vaughn said the project will likely have to be completed in stages, with no firm timeline for completion.
Located off Route 9 at Federal Lane in New Castle, it’s estimated to cost between $12-15 million.
The project will be paid for through a mixture of federal, state and county funds.
