Now, instead of raising $20 million for the facility, officials are looking at a figure closer to $40 million, said John DiBuonoventuro, chairman of the Chester County Public Safety Training Center task force.

"This project has kept pace with the cost of our lives," DiBuonaventuro, a Tredyffrin Township supervisor and member of the Paoli Fire Company. "This is the reality. It should be no surprise to anybody."

The higher cost is blamed on increased cost for construction materials. County officials are hoping corporate donations will make up the difference.

Chester County is the only suburban county without a public safety training center, but that's not for lack of trying.

The long-stalled project, which by some accounts has been kicking around for 30 years, got a boost this week when the county's state senators obtained $1 million in state funds and promised an equal amount next year.

On-air shopping giant QVC became the first corporate sponsor with a pledge of $100,000. So far, nearly $17 million has been raised.

Originally framed as a training school for firefighters, the concept was expanded in 2003 by Chester County commissioners to include police and emergency medical personnel, who pledged $5 million toward its construction.

The center is planned for a 70-acre tract in East Fallowfield on land that is under agreement of sale with Peco Energy. Although the township has approved a zoning change for the project, it still needs land-development approvals, a process that is now under way.

East Fallowfield Supervisor Chris Makely said that the township is not satisfied with some of the studies submitted by the county as part of the approval process and some of them will have to be revised.

"As long as I'm involved, it's not going to be rammed down anybody's throat," said Makely. "This is our backyard, and it's going to be done right."

The center will encompass a wide range of facilities, including a burn building and a smoke building for firefighter training, a fake intersection, a shooting range and hazardous materials training.

"This has been needed in the county forever," said Glenn Allison, president of the Chester County Fire Chiefs Association.

Firefighters and other first responders have to travel to Montgomery County, Delaware County and as far away as Dover, Del., to get the necessary training for certification, he said.

"With everything under the Department of Homeland Security, we have to be able to operate as a unified command," he said. "Right now, it's very difficult for all the disciplines in Chester County to train together."

Officials hope to break ground sometime next year.