It's part of a national historical site and one of the oldest buildings in Springfield but it houses some of the newest technology being used by law enforcement - the Springfield Police Academy's version of virtual reality.
"The MILO system is a computer-generated interactive training tool that allows us to enhance training that there's no other way to get to," said Officer Sean Shattuck with the Holyoke Police Department, and trainer on the MILO range.
Shattuck and Pittsfield police officer Niki Gaynor have been teaching at the academy for years.
In the confines of a simple room in the basement of the building, they give both recruits and veteran officers some of their most valuable law enforcement training.
"This gives them the opportunity to have firsthand knowledge and actually physically do things, use their voice commands, use their presence," Shattuck said.
The high-tech system stores around 1,000 situations any police officer could face while on duty.
"When they come in here, they're literally thrown onto the hot coals because that's what police work is," Shattuck said.
It seems this technology is needed now more than ever.
Nearly one year after a shooter terrorized the halls of Sandy Hook Elementary school, law enforcement across the country have continued to respond to active shooter calls.
Several weeks ago, dozens of police responded to a school in Sparks, NV where a middle school student is accused of opening fire and killing a teacher.
Just today students and faculty were forced indoors in New Britain, CT after a man was reported carrying a gun wearing a mask around the campus of Central Connecticut State University.
They're situations every police officer hopes they don't ever have to respond to.
But with technology like the MILO range, which can replicate a school-shooting scenarios and many other types of incidents, they're better prepared if that call comes.
"We try to raise their adrenaline rate up, we try to make them feel stress, we try to make them get the full value of training out of what this does," Shattuck said.
Sgt. Mark Baran with the South Hadley police department walked CBS 3 Springfield through what the cadets are faced with when coming into the MILO room.
A projector displays the real-life scenario on the wall, the officer grips a gun armed with a laser instead of bullets, and shouts commands as if he's truly responding to the call.
Afterwards, there's a debriefing.
"We make them articulate what they did and explain to us why they did it…it forces them to think from A to Z what they would do on a call," said Officer Niki Gaynor.
A scenario playing out of an alarm call can be changed from a peaceful routine response that's resolved, to a lethal call with an armed intruder.
Even for an experienced police veteran like Sgt. Baran, there's stress involved with this type of training.
"Definitely gets the heart rate going, there's definitely some intensity to it," he said.
But it's so important that officers face that intensity inside this room before they step out onto the streets.
"It provides the experience that they're going to need out on the street," Baran said.
"You start your day, you drive around, and all of a sudden you pull up on a scene and it's out of control and you have to respond," Shattuck said.
Copyright WSHM 2013 (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
The dating app 'Tinder' announced via Facebook on Wednesday that UMass Amherst had won a free concert featuring the rap artist.
More >>The dating app 'Tinder' announced via Facebook on Wednesday that UMass Amherst had won a free concert featuring the rap artist.
More >>Police say a 3-year-old girl accidentally shot and wounded her pregnant mother in a car parked outside a northwestern Indiana thrift store.
More >>Police say a 3-year-old girl accidentally shot and wounded her pregnant mother in a car parked outside a northwestern Indiana thrift store.
More >>A Massachusetts man has hit it big twice in one year on a scratch ticket.
More >>A Massachusetts man has hit it big twice in one year on a scratch ticket.
More >>A former 911 operator in Houston has been found guilty of hanging up on people calling for emergency services.
More >>A former 911 operator in Houston has been found guilty of hanging up on people calling for emergency services.
More >>The owner of an East Longmeadow restaurant is stepping up, offering to hire qualified staff who lost their jobs when three local Bertucci's restaurants abruptly closed this week.
More >>The owner of an East Longmeadow restaurant is stepping up, offering to hire qualified staff who lost their jobs when three local Bertucci's restaurants abruptly closed this week.
More >>Toby the cat has finally found a loving family after the folks he felt the closest to tried to have him put down.
More >>Toby the cat has finally found a loving family after the folks he felt the closest to tried to have him put down.
More >>A California man tried saving his girlfriend after she fell onto a set of train tracks, but unfortunately, she did not survive.
More >>A California man tried saving his girlfriend after she fell onto a set of train tracks, but unfortunately, she did not survive.
More >>The month of April sheds light on breaking barriers and bringing awareness to the autism community for National Autism Awareness Month.
More >>The month of April sheds light on breaking barriers and bringing awareness to the autism community for National Autism Awareness Month.
More >>If you have an old car seat that needs to be replaced, you may not want to throw it away just yet.
More >>If you have an old car seat that needs to be replaced, you may not want to throw it away just yet.
More >>When the engine on the left wing broke in mid-flight, the pilots of Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 had to deal with a 737 that suddenly banked left on its own, well past any angle they would use.
More >>When the engine on the left wing broke in mid-flight, the pilots of Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 had to deal with a 737 that suddenly banked left on its own, well past any angle they would use.
More >>