Stuart Bishop stands inside a fire behavior container where fire science students train. The vent indicated by Bishop and temperature sensors inside the container allow instructors to keep strict control over the environment for the safety of the students.
Law enforcement officers and Arizona Law Enforcement Training Academy students have access to a shooting range on the 20-acre facility, as well as a drivers training course.
The Jake Flake Institute/Northeast Arizona Training Center (NATC) is tucked away on the outskirts of Taylor, and while many people driving by may wonder about the purpose of a six-story tower and drivers course at the edge of town, for fire fighters and police, the facility provides state-of-the-art training not too far from home.
The facility is part of Northland Pioneer College, working in partnership with Navajo County, the Town of Taylor, the Northeast Arizona Fire Chiefs’ Association and the Northeast Arizona Police Association, with Stuart Bishop running the facility.
Bishop takes a great deal of pride in the training provided at the facility and his background makes him well qualified to oversee the operation. He retired both as a police officer and as an assistant fire chief, and even taught elementary school. Now he not only oversees operations at the facility, he also serves as director of public safety education and district emergency manager for the college.
He and his assistant, Danneel Elkins, work to make the facility accessible to the 12 fire departments, 12 policing agencies and three private agencies that pay dues for training purposes regardless of their size. “We charge for using the facility, but it’s not a one size fits all. Not every community has a big tax base and the rates are less for smaller departments. What’s important is that we give them the training they need to keep alive,” stated Bishop.
That training includes access to the burn tower, a “flashover” room, fire behavior chamber, shooting range and a “dirty room” to study defense tactics and the drivers training course, as well as other training options.
The facility not only provides training for those already in the fire fighting and law enforcement fields, classes are offered for those interested in entering either field through NPC.
The site has three classrooms where students enrolled at NPC are taught Fire Science 1 and 2, Hazmat and Wildland Fires in the evenings by Bill Solomon. In the mornings, high school students who are at least 17 years of age participate in the Northeastern Arizona Vocational Technology Institute of Technology (NAVIT) fire science program.
Bishop explained that the year-long program provides 30 credit hours. In addition to the required core classes, the program provides an associate’s degree in fire science. For dedicated high school students taking dual enrollment courses through their high school, that means they could obtain that degree by the time they complete high school at potentially no cost to them. Students taking advantage of the program travel each morning from as far as Winslow and Round Valley five days a week.
Another advantage for college students is that prior to this year, anyone interested in taking the fire science courses had to have a fire department sponsorship. This allowed the students to come to the courses with gear provided by the fire department. “We realized that some of these smaller departments just didn’t have the extra gear to spare for someone to take to the classes, so the college made the decision to remove that requirement,” explained Stuart, meaning that anyone with an interest in the program can enroll.
In addition, NATC is recognized under the Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education (FESHE) standards so that those certified under the NPC program will be certified to work as fire fighters throughout the country.
The facility also provides a law enforcement certification academy. The Northeastern Arizona Law Enforcement Training Academy (NALETA) held at the facility is a fully certified Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training academy. The instructors are current law enforcement officers and those who train to become certified police officers at the academy are eligible for employment throughout the state.
Since 2012, NALETA has run six academies involving 14 different agencies with 72 recruits and 50 of those graduating. Of that number, 47 have been employed by a law enforcement agency within Navajo or Apache counties. Arizona Post reimburses the cost of training, bringing $107,278 in additional funding to the college’s general fund.
Since 2012, NATC has had 92 fire science students obtain some type of employment based on the training they receive, with the majority of those jobs in Navajo or Apache counties.
Bishop has worked with NATC’s partners to develop not only a quality training center, but also a philosophy of service to others. “We train our students to be guardians, not warriors,” stated Bishop, adding that there’s no macho perspective in the operations at NATC. “It’s about safety and saving lives.” To emphasize that, the facility implemented Blue Courage training, a program that embodies noble character and devotion not only within the profession, but also in the personal lives of those entering the field of law enforcement and fire fighting.
The only thing that appears to be lacking from the facility is living quarters for law enforcement academy recruits, something that Bishop admitted would be nice to have, but he isn’t complaining. “We have a great facility here that I’m really proud of. We have a number of different agencies that sit on a board and you would think that it would be a challenge, yet we all come together and it works,” he concluded.
To learn more about NATC and what it has to offer, go online to natc.info.
