City Council Monday approved an application for a $1 million Local Share Account grant that would enable it to construct a public safety training center for use by the Fire and Police departments.

The center would enable firefighters and police to eliminate their current practice of training in houses slated for demolition, which creates issues with sanitation and safety, and in churches and schools, which limits some training options.

The grant program doesn’t require a match and is highly competitive, and whether the city receives the money will help determine whether the city undertakes the project, officials said.

“It’s not a cheap endeavor,” said Fire Chief Adam Free.

At the center, firefighters could do rope work, search and rescue activities, and could practice rescues from confined spaces and trenches, Free said.

The facility would be adaptable, enabling police to work on building searches, active shooter training and role playing for de-escalation and crisis intervention, said Police Chief Joe Merrill.

“The possibilities are endless,” Merrill said.

Ideally, the center would be in the city, Free said.

His firefighters need to stay in the city while on duty, so having it elsewhere could create issues, Free suggested.

A training center would help the departments train more efficiently and with more flexibility, said City Councilman Dave Butterbaugh.

It might also help the Police Department toward accreditation, one official said.

The Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association introduced its accreditation program in 2001, according to the association’s website.

Accreditation involves establishing a set of standards, coupled with a plan under which departments would attempt to reach those standards, according to the website.

Among the benefits, according to the website: a framework for evaluating departmental practices; reduction of lawsuit risks; better law enforcement, community relations, department accountability, problem solving and community confidence; and more open-minded viewpoints among both management and rank and file.

A training center could also lead to improvement in the city’s Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating, which can help make fire insurance less expensive for residents, said Mayor Matt Pacifico.

ISO ratings are based on a community’s level of fire protection.

Officials in the area have occasionally spoken about creating a training center in recent years.

City officials have some ideas on where such a center would be located, but didn’t share those options.

It’s not yet determined whether such a center would be reserved for city employees only, Pacifico said.

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