A four-wheel, hitch trailer with four expandable rooms, a fuse box for a power generator, collapsible railings on the roof for observation, removable insulation, air conditioning and heating.

It has about 480 square feet of room, weighs about 90,000 pounds and costs about $100,000.

What might make a swanky fold-out camper is actually the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety's new mobile emergency center called a "cabana," which officers used Wednesday in a training exercise.

Purchased using a $300,000 homeland security grant issued from the state, the cabana can be used as a command post, first aid facility or area for emergency workers to rest in an ongoing incident.

MSU police Inspector Bill Wardwell said the department made a case that MSU is a potential terrorist target because of the amount of research the university does, the amount of people who come to public events —including football and basketball games — and the number of influential people who visit the campus.

"We identified several things that would help us respond to a terrorist attack, this being one of them," he said. "The stadium and crowds were a big influence on this."

As a medical refuge, the cabana is reminiscent of a recommendation from the East Lansing independent commission in charge of investigating the 2005 disturbances. The recommendation suggests a first aid area where people can seek medical treatment away from chemical munitions.

Wardwell said he can't say for sure if the recommendation was an inspiration for obtaining the cabana, but its function as a first aid area in an emergency did appeal to the department.

"In that case, it's logical to staff it with nurses and doctors," Wardwell said.

"You can't set it up in the middle of a riot as a command post. That wouldn't be very safe.

"There's always a chance for something unpredictable."

Wardwell said MSU and Hawaii law enforcement agencies are the only ones in the nation to have a cabana.

Wardwell said about 15 officers from the department participated in scenario training using an incident command system, a standardized method of management that can be used in urgent and non-emergency events. Part of the exercise included setting up and using the cabana as a base of operations.

Wednesday is the second of three days planned for the scenario training sessions this summer using the cabana, Wardwell said. By the final session, everyone in the department will be familiar with the cabana, he said.

MSU police Lt. Penny Fischer, a scenario controller and designer, said all three scenarios are different, but have the same underlying purpose of training with the mobile center and using the incident command system.

"It gives them the opportunity to practice and make the mistakes they're going to make right now," she said. "In a disaster, communication is always a weakness. It's the best thing that can come out of this — practice with communication."

Wardwell said it takes about 20 minutes to set up the mobile center, but according to the manufacturer, it can be done in about five minutes.

Using the grant, the department also bought closed-circuit cameras for Spartan Stadium and thermal imaging cameras, Wardwell said. One of two large thermal cameras is mounted on an MSU police patrol vehicle.

But there is a growing list of other equipment that would be useful to the department, Wardwell said. A satellite hook-up for the mobile center would be useful to set up cameras on top of the cabana and transmit pictures of the scene back to the police station, he said.

"I'd like to get some portable metal detectors like they have at the airports for certain events," he said. "That's on the wish list if money comes our way."

MSU police Officer Craig Guadiano, a participant in the training, said the mobile center is one of the department's resources that will help ensure safety for students, faculty and visitors in an emergency situation.

"People may think, 'Oh, the department is spending money on another useless tool,' but you never know," he said. "In the end, this is for the community. That's what it's all about."