I was fortunate to tour Disaster City a couple of years ago at Texas A&M in College Station TX
Emergency responders climb into the mangled steel and glass that was once a bustling passenger train. Behind the wreckage, another search and rescue team uses canines to sift through a building's rubble left from a terrorist attack or natural disaster hoping to find survivors. Families who were moments ago shopping in strip malls are now trapped beneath several tons of steel beams and debris, with friends nearby struggling to survive inside a collapsed movie theatre.
Welcome to Disaster City, a place where tragedy and training meet a place where anything is possible.
Located in College Station, Texas, this 52-acre training facility is situated adjacent to the TEEX Brayton Fire Training Field and delivers the full array of skills and techniques needed by today's emergency response professionals.
The mock community features full-scale, collapsible structures designed to simulate various levels of disaster and wreckage which can be customized for the specific training needs of any group.
Emergency responders from across the globe venture to Disaster City for search and rescue training and exercises.
- Building Collapse
- Rubble Piles
- Technical Skills Training Area
- Transportation Disaster Training Area
- Government Complex - Project 133
The major TEEX programs include fire and rescue, infrastructure and safety, law enforcement, economic and workforce development, and homeland security. As a member of The Texas A&M University System, TEEX is unique in its ability to access a broad range of emerging research and technical expertise. Beginning with course design and development all the way through hands-on instruction and national certification testing, TEEX delivers comprehensive training through both classroom and hands-on instruction and as online courses. Hosting services for online courses, technical assistance and technology validation, and bilingual training and translation services also are available.
By placing safety and wellbeing above all and by focusing on prevention and response, TEEX has become a comprehensive training provider through more than 80 years of extension training. Working with other agencies and encouraging involvement has led to better fire safety and emergency response, cleaner drinking water, better roads and infrastructure, improved homeland security, safer workplaces, heightened public safety and security, new therapeutics manufacturing and the evolution of cyber security.
