Public safety training facility mulled

City to investigate building its own center for police, firefighters

City Council this week agreed informally to allow staff to investigate the feasibility of building a training facility for firefighters and police -- a project that could cost between $500,000 and $750,000, according to Interim City Manager Joe Merrill.

In such a facility, firefighters could practice placement of ladders and hose, working on roofs, rescues with ropes and in confined spaces and trenches; victim searches; forcible building entry and breaching of walls; while police could practice clearing out buildings, using non-lethal weapons and dealing with active shooters, according to Fire Chief Adam Free and Interim Police Chief Derek Swope.

For the fire department, such a facility would make training possible almost any time; would eliminate the need to pay travel expenses, wages and even overtime for firefighters who are training out of town, along with the need to pay wages and maybe overtime for replacement workers here; and would eliminate the need for training in unsanitary and unsafe blighted buildings slated for demolition in Altoona, Free said.

It could also help keep Altoona's Insurance Services Office (ISO) status from slipping to a 3, and instead move it in the direction of the ideal 1, Free said.

There aren't plans for live burning, which would help keep costs down, according to Free.

The estimated cost of $500,000 to $750,000 does not include site acquisition or site preparation, Merrill said.

Given council consensus, staff will check out grant and partnership possibilities, according to Merrill.

Possible partners include other area municipalities and their fire and police services, officials said.

Partners could help Altoona in applying for grants and contribute to the facility fund, according to Councilman Dave Ellis.

Some funding sources require a match, Merrill said.

Councilman Ron Beatty asked if it would make sense to rent access to such a facility, if the project is successful.

Even if one disregards the benefits of being "a good neighbor," the available income from such rentals wouldn't be large enough to "move the needle on cost," Merrill said.

Merrill showed pictures of training facilities currently being marketed.

After seeing one that appeared to be constructed of shipping containers, Mayor Matt Pacifico asked whether the city could create a duplicate with its own workforce.

That is unlikely to be practical, because there are hidden critical features inside, like movable partitions, Free said.

The city will likely consult the Altoona Blair County Development Corp. for suggestions on the project, according to Merrill.

One potential site for a facility would be the Westfall Park area, said Councilman Dave Butterbaugh.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.