Our History

The roots of the Public Safety Training Center date back to February 1974, with a proposal to establish a Regional Criminal Justice Training Center. The Monroe County Association of Chiefs of Police thought that such a facility, under the aegis of Monroe Community College, could provide consistent, responsive, professional and high quality training in one central location. With the support of the police chiefs and the County of Monroe, a formal proposal for approval and grant support was made to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. Once funds were secured, a director was hired and the Regional CJTC was established.

With the support of area public safety professionals, the Center has continued to grow in programs offered and client agencies served. In the fall of 1983, the Center was renamed the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Training Center to reflect an expanded mission. In 1987, the CJ&PSTC assumed responsibility for training in support of the Emergency Medical Service community. In 1989, the TEAM Incident Management program was pioneered here as a systems approach to integrating public and private sector response to natural or man-made emergencies. Through the offerings in this program, EMS, Fire, Law Enforcement, public officials, and industrial fire and EMS organizations learn and then practice common language, approaches, and techniques. In 1990, the CJ&PSTC added the year-long Paramedic program to its portfolio of offerings.

In 1995, the mission expanded once again as the Training Center was certified by the State of New York as a Security Guard Training Site. At the same time, the name was simplified to the Public Safety Training Center, since Criminal Justice is one of the disciplines within Public Safety.

A two-phase project to construct the full-faceted training facility, the Public Safety Training Facility (PSTF) at 1190 Scottsville Road, began in the late 1990s. Phase 1 of the facility opened in the Fall of 1999 and is currently hosting fire training programs to Municipal and Industrial Fire Fighters along with being a Regional training site for Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF). The total budgeted funds for Phase 1 were approximately $13 million.

Currently, the County contracts with Monroe Community College for all public safety training to be conducted at its Public Safety Training Center. A partnership agreement with the County of Monroe and the City of Rochester was executed in March of 1998 to continue operation of this training. Under the partnership agreement, the County will lease the property at Scottsville Road from the City of Rochester for a period of 99 years with an option to purchase the property. The Public Safety Training Center moved to this facility in July of 2001, where the college continues to provide public safety training and manages the facility.

Phase 2 consisted of a new 49,000 gross square foot addition to the existing Rochester Fire and Police Academy. The new addition houses the Monroe County Fire Bureau, Rochester Fire Department Training Division, Monroe County Office of Emergency Preparedness, and numerous classrooms and office space for Monroe Community College. Construction of Phase 2 began in the Fall of 1999 and was completed in September of 2001. The entire budget for both phases was approximately $26 million.

First, last, and always, the PSTC is a partnership enterprise. Without our partners, our vision and mission could not be achieved.