City Looking For New Public Safety Training Facility

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Pittsburgh police and fire desperately need a new place to train.

Their current facility just isn't up to the task anymore. They're eyeing a new building, but there's something standing in the way.

While it's still in the infancy stages, the city has committed money hoping to find a location for a new public safety training facility. The old Greenway Middle School could be one of the sites up for consideration.

Here since the 50's, the current building where Pittsburgh police and fire do most of their training is rundown, overused, and out of date.

"It was really brought to our attention by the firefighters, the police, EMS, all saying they need a comprehensive facility," City Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith said.

Kail-Smith says the city is taking the first steps in the process to create a new training facility.

"They need to collaborate efforts on rescues. They need to collaborate on response times. So, this will provide a building where everyone is together," she said.

The city will lean on a consultant for specifics on what the facility will need and the best location, but right now the city thinks Greenway could be one of the options.

So far, $100,000 has already been budgeted for a consultant. But Kail-Smith said Greenway meets many of the needs for a training center. It has a pool, an area to store large vehicles, and a place for live burns.

But there's one big issue.

"The building is not for sale, so we need to talk with the school district about that," Kail-Smith said.

Currently, it houses the Pittsburgh Gifted Center and the Professional Development Center.

"The building is highly utilized, but there's also a benefit to all of our residents across the City of Pittsburgh," Kail-Smith said.

The school board sent a letter to councilwoman smith, saying it has no interest in selling the building..

The mayor's office agrees a new public safety training facility is needed and says it is happy to work with her to study new options

The proposal to find a consultant is expected to be finalized soon.

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