NIPSTA Field Trip and the Driving Simulator

At the NIPSTA field trip on September 27th, 2017, there was a lot learned about what kind of training firefighters, paramedics, law enforcement, and public works employees go through to make sure their jobs are crisp and well done so they can keep the community safe. The whole organization is run by Jill Ramaker, who happens to be the first female executive director of NIPSTA which I thought was really cool and interesting; also that she is very well educated and qualified for her job.
During the trip, one area that really interested me was the first thing we ended up seeing first which was the driving simulator room. The simulator mimics the motion of an actual firetruck and has a full 180 degree view range. It really makes it realistic so that in a real life demo or training with an actually truck, the driver will be ready and know everything about his machine. Even cooler was that the simulator was attached to a pump system which you would see on the side of a fire truck. This I think is very important and needed in fire training because the water pump are important in putting out the fire but the driver must have some control over which pumps or valves need to be switched on or off, so there is that teamwork between firefighters in working together to get the job done quickly and efficiently.Preview attachment IMG_1504.JPG

Since 2001, when Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy known as NIPSTA opened its doors for the first time, this organization only had one executive director. Thirteen years later, Jill Ramaker became the first ever female second executive director. There she leads a huge agency that trains firefighters to a large multidisciplinary center that trains a variety of first responders. NIPSTA is an intergovernmental agency focused on developing and providing training programs that address the requirements of fire, police, EMS, public works, and hazardous material. Supported by over thirty agencies and located on twenty-one acres of land in Glenview, Illinois, it is among the largest training centers of its kind in the country and unique for its multidisciplinary and collaborative focus. It brings groups together with the intention of showing them how to respond together. It’s actually rare to have law enforcement and fire service engage in collaborative training like this, but that’s exactly what leads to a safer and more efficient response. Before NIPSTA, Ramaker started as a paramedic and emergency medical services lieutenant, spending many years as both an E.R nurse and EMS educator. She furthered her education returning to school and getting her masters degree in law. The NIPSTA fire academy hold a nine week curriculum which offers both inside and outside props. Firefighters get recruited by a selective fire department and are sent to NIPSTA. The $35,000 tuition is usually covered by the department.

NIPSTA is the acronym for Northern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy. It is a intergovernmental organization. NIPSTA was being developed before 9/11. A bit after 9/11 occurred the door finally opened for many different types of response teams to train. Duty, pride, and tradition are words that the people who are apart of NIPSTA live by. NIPSTA is runned by Jill Ramaker. She is very important to the history of this training academy because she was the first women to run it. She had first went to paramedic school and started working for a fire department, then got a masters in homeland security. After that she had became a Nurse during 9/11, but then came back to Public Safety and became apart of NIPSTA. She came to NIPSTA three years ago then got a masters in law. There are 450 instructors there but not many are women not only is she one of the few she is the executive director. NIPSTA gets their firefighter recruits from fire fighters who have been hired by a department but the department sends them to NIPSTA for training and they pay $3500 for them to go. At NIPSTA these response teams come together to train together. One of the activities that we saw when we went to visit was the collapsed building. There were firefighters from different towns working to resolve the problem of the collapsed building quickly but safely. This is a really important skill for firefighters to know because a lot of buildings that are on fire collapse. Knowing how to respond to that type of emergency is always good because you'll learn how to quickly and carefully remove the debris to save lives.

Amelia Barnes

Darlene Gordon

Welcome Intro to Public Safety students 2016-2017.

Please post your assignments here, starting with the assignment on our field trip to NIPSTA on Wednesday, September 27, 2017.

When you post, please also post a picture of yourself and a picture of the subject of your posting.

Here is an example:

The field trip to NIPSTA, the Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy, was a great field trip!  Our class learned so many things and it was fabulous to meet and talk with the first female Executive Director of the organization.  I look forward to future field trips with the Intro to Public Safety students.



Darlene Gordon