By GINNY COOPER / Staff Writer

CALERA—At first glance, Double Tap Training Grounds is unremarkable. It is just a big, industrial building with a single flagpole in front, surrounded by woods.

However, inside the building it is an entirely different story.

Right inside the door is a two-story replica of a house, complete with glass windows, unplugged appliances and an old telephone. The house is not for play: It is a simunition house, designed to help law enforcement officers learn how to safely enter and search a house.

The house has a variety of features designed for training. There are two doors that can be breached with a ram, grating between the floors so trainees can be observed from above or below, walls that can move to refigure the house for various scenarios and 16 cameras throughout the simunition house, which can record the training session for teaching purposes.

There is also a classroom, complete with a projector and whiteboard, as well as a self-defense area with punching bags and a dummy and 28 outdoor shooting lanes. Double Tap also has a gun cleaning room with pressurized air pumps, so marksmen can clean their gun directly after use.

Mike Reebals, director of training for Double Tap Training Grounds, has a wealth of experience in the field, after spending three years in the military and over 18 years in law enforcement.

The facility opened in late February, and is “slowly putting everything together,” Reebals said.

Though a lot of groups that utilize the facility are law enforcement and military groups, Reebals said Double Tap wishes to “reach out to as many types of people as possible,” and offers team building for companies, personal defense classes for women and target practice.

“We have boy scouts coming out in a few weeks, and a church group that is interested too,” Reebals said.

The facility is also equipped for birthday parties, and can accommodate almost any request, Reebals said.

“If you have an idea, we have the people and resources to make it happen,” he said.