NIC eyes emergency vehicle training facility

COEUR d’ALENE — Police spend most of their time on duty behind the wheel of a vehicle. 

That’s why it’s critical for them to be well-trained in how to operate their vehicles, including at high speeds and in emergencies. 

“We’ve got to put as much training as we possibly can into these people so they can respond to a situation in the most expedient and safe manner possible,” said Chris Wagar, law enforcement academy coordinator at North Idaho College. “We don’t want them to lose their lives or for a member of the public to get hurt.” 

In Idaho, police recruits are required to complete a minimum of 40 hours of emergency vehicle operations course training, plus an additional four hours of training every two years.

For recruits who go through the Basic Patrol Academy at NIC, that training occurs on a 4-acre space at the Coeur d’Alene Airport, just off the runway. 

“It’s the only piece of asphalt in Kootenai County that’s big enough,” said Stu Miller, an instructor with 20 years of experience in EVOC training. 

It’s also the closest training site in Idaho. Without it, NIC’s patrol academy students would need to travel to Meridian to use the course there. 

NIC has a solid relationship with the Coeur d'Alene Airport, Wagar said. But as the airport grows, using that space for EVOC training has become more challenging. It won’t be practical to continue training at the airport for much longer. 

“We have literally been searching for a place that meets our needs for 20 years,” Miller said. 

Wagar said that place already exists, at least in the abstract. NIC owns a 20-acre parcel near the Parker Technical Education Center in Rathdrum, but it would need some development. 

“Ideally, what we’d like to do is turn that into a public safety EVOC training facility,” Wagar said. 

He pointed to the Idaho POST training facility on the Idaho State Police campus in Meridian, which has a 21-acre space devoted to the emergency vehicle operations course. The course features a large skid pad and cone course area, as well as a mile-long road course with a functioning intersection. 

Wagar said the facility NIC hopes to build would include a large skid pad, as well as a garage for storing vehicles and classroom space. It would cost an estimated $12.7 million to build. 

Miller said representatives from NIC are likely to pitch legislators on the project during the next session. 

One member of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee inquired about the concept last year, when NIC President Nick Swayne went before the state budget writers with the college’s requests. 

At that time, Swayne told legislators the facility would provide training opportunities for law enforcement and other first responders, as well as students seeking commercial driver’s licenses, city and county snow plow operators, school bus drivers and others. 

Wagar said a dedicated EVOC training facility would help increase community safety. 

“We want to train our people as much as humanly possible to protect the community,” he said.