Thalacker spoke at a recent press conference where DMACC officials unveiled a fire truck, announcing the college had obtained the truck to use at the fire academy, with grant money, along with an ambulance.

“Not many firefighter training centers can claim to have their very own fire trucks,” said Thalacker, who is a second-year student in DMACC’s Fire Science Technology program and a volunteer firefighter with the Baxter Fire Department. “The fire truck will help the fire science program tremendously. In the fire industry, we can learn a lot in the classroom, but almost everything we learn has to be applied hands-on, at some point.” 

Thalacker said DMACC classes and hands-on training, historically, have not generally taken place at the same site.

“All our hands-on things we did was out at Urbandale Fire Department, including live burns in their burn tower, extrication practice, testing, etc.,” Thalacker said. “We always used one of their fire engines and we are grateful for that equipment. But by having this truck, we can literally go through a lecture (on a DMACC campus) and walk 20 feet and have our own fire truck we can practice while it’s still fresh in our minds.”

The purchase was made possible by a $113,000 grant from Prairie Meadows. The grant covered the truck, equipment and some minor repairs.

Narcan, the prescription drug that saves lives in the many cases of heroin overdose, is now onboard all of the Chicago Fire Dept’s trucks and paramedic units.

Fire Commissioner Jose Santiago says it’s a big deal because time is of the essence in these emergencies.

“It is a big deal. There is an epidemic in the country with heroin overdoses,” Santiago said. “It’ll bring them down off that high and then you can see what you have. As you bring this person down, if anything starts to go wrong, you can go ahead and address that [because] we have paramedics on there.”

Groundbreaking on the $5 million fire station was May 16. Exterior work should be finished in the next two to three weeks, then the interior will be completed over the winter. Hepfler said the goal is to move in during March and be fully operational by April 1.

“We are staying on — and under — that budget,” Hepfler said. “We’re very fortunate; we’ve been moving right along.”

The station features six large vehicle bays, with a 22-foot ceiling and 14-foot-tall doors. It offers far more room than the existing downtown headquarters.

“We shouldn’t have any problems backing any equipment in here,” he said. “And it’s big enough it allows us to store everything inside.”

The building at 1301 Chippewa Crossing Blvd. sits on a 3-acre parcel, with plenty of additional space outside for possible expansion.

“Everything has been planned for the future — we’ve built for our needs for 25 years,” he said.

Mayor Greg Hoffman shares Hepfler’s enthusiasm for the project.

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