Today members of the Emergency Responder community came together for the opening ceremony for the new Tactical Village at the training campus. The morning began with the host of apparatus, display units and emergency response units gathering at 9 am to be in place for the opening walk through of the facility at 10 am.

Members from all the disciplines of emergency services, Police, Fire, EMS and Fire Police were on hand to open the new facility. Then at 11am the ceremony began with the Director of Emergency Services Robert (Bobby) Kagel opening the events as the Master of Ceremonies. The ceremony began with giving thanks to all of those who made the training center a reality; there were many public, private and elected officials who have supported this endeavor over the years.

Then the County of Chester Commissioners spoke, each one echoing the thanks for the support to make this training center what it is today. This was followed by speeches from the Fire, Police and Fire Police representatives who all spoke on how this facility will bring all of the disciplines together for training which will only enhance the services delivered to our public in their time of need.

Following the ceremony, The West Bradford Fire Company, Uwchlan Ambulance and Malvern medics provided a vehicle rescue demo. This demo was followed by a demo from the West Chester Regional and Chester County Emergency Response Teams (SWAT) on different tactics they employ in situations.

Then we (Wagontown) concluded the demos with a car fire demonstration on the new car fire prop. The crew used a handline to extinguish the fire and once this demo was completed the attendees were treated to lunch up on the upper portion of the training facility.

Today it was stated "For over 50 years it was the vision of the Chester County Emergency Services community to be able to train together, across all disciplines. Until now, there have been no opportunities for the 5,000 plus emergency responders to practically train together with in the boundaries of Chester County. Yet they all respond to emergencies together time and time again".

The dedication ceremony also included the laying of three wreaths, alongside the 9/11 memorial which is part of the new Tactical Village. These wreaths were in honor of those who lost their lives during the 9/11 terror attacks, one for all the responders who have lost their lives serving the citizens of Chester County and one for the Department of Emergency Services Director Ed Atkins who lead the department from 1997 until his untimely passing in 2014.

Wagontown would like to thank all of those who made this facility more than just a dream; they made it a reality and would also like to thank the Chester County Fire Chiefs Association and Chester County Department of Emergency Services for allowing us to be part of this historical event.