The City of Center Line's utilizes cross-trained public safety officers and paid-on-call firefighters to provide firefighting services to its residents and businesses. One problem with this system is that fewer paid-on-call firefighters are available to respond to emergencies during normal business hours because they are unable to leave their full-time jobs. To address this problem, the City of Center Line proposes cross-training Center Line DPW employees as firefighters. These employees will carry their turnout gear in their DPW vehicles and respond immediately to emergencies during normal work hours. This will provide the Center Line Public Safety Department with additional firefighters when they are needed the most.

This program was implemented in 2013 when the first DPW employee completed the fire academy and began responding to fires as part of his normal work assignment. Additional DPW employees will be cross trained as resources permit. 

The only barrier encountered in cross training DPW workers to perform firefighting duties is scheduling the training as it requires several weeks of full-time classes and the DPW staffing is lower than it has ever been, meaning that DPW workers cannot be trained during the winter and summer months when DPW is its busiest.