by Jeff Achen
Thisweek Newspapers

Flint Hills Resources announced that it will spend $100,000 to refurbish a building it owns and allow the Dakota County Domestic Preparedness Committee to use the building, at no charge, as a training facility for first responders.

Rosemount Police Chief Gary Kalstabakken said the Rosemount Police and Fire departments, as well as the Dakota County Mutual Aid Assistance Group, have already been using the site, but this donation will enhance their training.

"The changes we'll be seeing are generous. The site itself is an old warehouse-type facility used primarily by the MAAG team," he said. "The nice thing is, it's isolated and we can plan for it. We know the building is going to be there two months from now or six months from now."

Scott Lindemann, refinery manager and vice president of operations, said Flint Hills is pleased to build on that history of cooperation with first responders by providing this additional support.

The announcement was made at an event hosted by Flint Hills Resources at the Science Museum. About 120 local officials, community partners and others attended.

Since 2004, police and fire departments in Dakota County and other communities in Minnesota have been using the property Flint Hills owns for various training exercises. An obstacle course is on the site. Other training on the site has included drills related to felony stops, hostage negotiations and the K-9 unit.

Remodeling and refurbishing the building can expand the types of training activities offered. For example, the interior of the building can be used to recreate houses or other structures law enforcement personnel search. Improvements to the building on the 7-acre property will be made over the next year.

"The types of situations first responders are called to are constantly changing, so the training we need changes as well," said David Gisch, Dakota County Emergency Services coordinator and chair of the Domestic Preparedness Committee. "Having a facility right in our own community will be a great benefit to local first responders."

Flint Hills Resources has provided training in fighting petroleum fires to local fire departments. The company has also been involved in Wakota CAER, an emergency response organization that includes government, industry and first-response agencies.

Flint Hills Resources LP is a leading provider of transportation fuels used in the Upper Midwest. Flint Hills' Rosemount refinery has a crude-oil processing capacity of approximately 280,000 barrels per day and employs about 850 people full time. Flint Hills Resources, which is headquartered in Wichita, Kan., owns and operates refineries and chemical plants in Alaska, Minnesota, Texas, Illinois and Michigan. The company also owns a system of refined products and asphalt terminals that serve Texas and the Midwest. More information about the company is available at www.fhr.com.