Peace officer cadets at the Law Enforcement Training Centre in Lac La Biche, along with law enforcement officers, fire and EMS personnel from across Alberta could in the very near future have a new track for practicing their emergency driving skills.
Chris Clark, the director of training for the Law Enforcement Training Centre says the Emergency Vehicle Operations Driving Track will used for teaching the Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC), along with other similar training.
Currently, the Law Enforcement Training Centre utilizes the smaller driving area within the air tanker base in Lac La Biche. According to Clark, there are many limitations to this base. The staging area, he said, is limited. Furthermore, there are also fuel storage sites and other lines used to fill wildfire aircraft that means officials with the training program must reduce the speed of vehicles during training exercises and plan obstacles to reduce the risk of impacting those infrastructure pieces.
There are also only certain times throughout the year when the air tanker base can be used for training purposes.
“Currently, we can only utilize the existing area between Thanksgiving and Easter,” Clark told Lakeland This Week. “The remainder of the year it is in use by Alberta Wildfire.”
The new track, on the other hand, Clark says, will be almost double the size of the current training area, and will also be operational throughout the year. In addition to peace officers, police agencies and other agencies such as fire services that require longer and larger areas to conduct driving training will also be able to use it.
“This track space will be beneficial for all levels of law enforcement and emergency workers such as EMS and Fire Services,” he stated.
Another advantage of the new track is that it will greatly mitigate safety hazards, and allow for permanent training markings. Clark said currently, the Law Enforcement Training Centre spends about eight hours with four staff measuring and marking obstacles for the course.
What could this track eventually look like? Clark said the size of area the Law Enforcement Training Centre is currently looking at is a seven-acre paved rectangle skills pad with adjoining paved roads, gravel roads and off-road hills for 4x4 training.
“Discussions are still occurring, but a conceptual design with the required components has been discussed and consulted within our stakeholder group,” he said.
Lac La Biche County council has approved $2.1 million within the 2024 operational budget to go towards such a project. Clark didn’t give a timeline as to when this track could become a reality but said that representatives from the Law Enforcement Training Centre are currently in discussions pertaining to site options, overall costs and planning what would be required for construction.
“We are looking at sites that are near the airport and industrial park so that it is located close to town,” he said, adding that the full operating cost and the revenue cost from building the track are also being examined.
Having a new driving track in the Lac La Biche area will also have a considerable economic impact, said Clark. Currently, he explained, if the track was constructed in 2025, there is an anticipated 25 weeks of booking for the track. This includes not only both of the law enforcement training programs offered in Lac La Biche, but also provincial training programs for Fish and Wildfire officers, Sheriffs, police agencies, firefighters and EMS personnel.
Clark stated that there has also been a lot of discussion about utilizing the track for community-based events as well.
“There would be people travelling to our site from all over Alberta as the only other dedicated emergency vehicle operations track is based in Calgary,” he said. “It is estimated that the economic impact is about $1.8 million in economic spending that would be spent while conducting training.”
