Public Safety Facilities
Seminole State's Center for Public Safety is a 59,000-square-foot facility housing the Criminal Justice, Fire Science and Emergency Medical Services programs under one roof on the Sanford/Lake Mary Campus. The Center opened in Fall 2009.
The Center includes smart classrooms and state-of-the-art simulation labs, and will allow Seminole State to expand its public service programs. To create the $17.6 million Center, two existing buildings (I and K) were completely renovated, and a new administrative wing was added to connect them.
- Law enforcement: The Center features a defensive tactics room and a lab for crime scene preparation. During inclement weather, Criminal Justice Institute students can drive a cruiser into the lab to simulate traffic and felony stops. Students also train at Seminole State's firing range and quarter-mile driving track at Seminole State's Geneva Center.
- Fire science: The Center includes a 100-square-foot simulator that can mimic car fires and other situations involving a liquid-burning fire. Students also have access to a fire maze, which simulates the tight, dark conditions firefighters face in tunnels and other narrow passageways. Additionally, Fire Science students train in a $2 million fire simulation lab, which has three simulation rooms and training props. It is the only one of its kind in Seminole County.
- EMT and paramedic: Students in the Emergency Medical Services program use top-of-the-line simulators, including high-tech patient simulators, an ambulance, a mock emergency room and a one-room apartment to apply the skills they learn in the classroom to real-life situations.
Because all of Seminole State's public service programs will be located in the CPS, students will have plenty of opportunities for cross-training.
About 1,600 students annually attend classes in Seminole State's public safety programs.