In a first for the New Zealand Police Force, a mock two storey house complete with doorways, rooftop holes, stairs and helicopter skids has been built entirely out of Royal Wolf shipping containers to conduct sophisticated and gruelling training and drills.
Senior Constable Aaron Brady from the New Zealand Police Force said, “I first came across the idea at the Burnham Military Camp where Royal Wolf had built a training facility for the army from shipping containers, and I thought this would be an effective way for us to create our own purpose built training facility.”
Royal Wolf supplied and modified 14 shipping containers by cutting out sections to create window and door frames. The shipping containers were then stacked to form a three storey structure, which includes the two storey house and the addition of another level to simulate a helicopter cabin. This unique configuration has enabled the police tactical team to replicate a range of activities.
“The strength of the shipping container is ideal because the frames for the doors and windows need to be able to withstand manual breaching, but the actual doors and windows we install have to be standard size to replicate real houses so officers can then practise gaining access through them.
We currently use this facility for a range of training drills including ‘fast roping’ training, where officers descend down a rope from the helicopter onto a building or the ground in situations where it is impossible to land. The top level of the structure simulates the conditions inside a helicopter, enabling us to complete this drill in a realistic environment without the cost of using a real helicopter” continued Senior Constable Brady.
According to Rick Mills, Royal Wolf Sales Manager South Island, “The New Zealand police previously used old, derelict and demountable buildings for general training and demonstrations but shipping containers provided a far better solution because of their strength and durability. Royal Wolf shipping containers are all 10KPA rated and independently engineered and certified. ”
“As opposed to the older facilities, the Royal Wolf containers are much more adaptable for our training requirements, and because they’re stackable their footprint on site is minimised. This makes the facility more cost effective as we are able to leave the containers in place for the duration of the training and all we have to do is replace the doors and windows when needed,” added Senior Constable Brady.
The project has been very successful and the New Zealand Police are looking to expand the structure and the project in the future
