TEEX purchases 17.8 acres adjacent to Disaster City

COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) has purchased a 17.8-acre tract of land adjacent to its famed Disaster City®, which means the Emergency Preparedness Campus in College Station now stands at nearly 297 acres. In addition to Disaster City, the campus includes the world-renowned Brayton Fire Training Field and the Emergency Operations Training Center.

“With the addition of this property, it not only will give us the needed buffer from the community but will also allow us to move existing rescue training props from the burn side of the field to Disaster City and make that area our rescue campus,” said Robert Moore, Director of the TEEX Emergency Services Training Institute. “We will then open up property on the northeast side of the field for new burn props.”

The emergency preparedness campus doubled in size in 2011, when a total of 159 acres of land adjoining Brayton Fire Training Field was transferred to TEEX from the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The additional property included a 31-acre tract on Nuclear Science Road and a 128-acre tract immediately northeast of the Emergency Operations Training Center.

TEEX had begun the process of fencing the newly acquired property when agency officials learned the tract of land next to Disaster City was up for sale.

“The primary concern with this land being on the market was it would make a viable location for new home sites or apartments,” said John Coppernoll, ESTI Program Director for Facilities Maintenance and Construction. “Having either immediately next to Disaster City would not be an ideal situation for either party. What was needed was enough land to provide an adequate buffer zone to our training areas.”

After 14 months of deliberation, TEEX was able to reach an agreement with the landowner and obtained approval from The Texas A&M University System to purchase the property.

A team from TEEX Emergency Services Training Institute is now developing plans for the use of the new property as well as the 159 acres obtained in 2011.