Carpino Votes to Fund Middlesex Fire Training School

HARTFORD- State Rep. Christie Carpino (Cromwell & Portland) hailed final legislative approval, Tuesday night, of the annual state bond package which included state bond money for a new Middlesex Fire Training School for the Middlesex County Firefighters.

Carpino has met with local fire chiefs over the past year regarding the Fire School. Earlier this year she wrote a letter to the Governor requesting state dollars to fund the design and build of a new Middlesex County Fire School. Carpino worked with members of the legislature’s bonding subcommittee to get the fire school language in the bond package.

The bond package now goes to the Governor for his signature. The allocation the state grant is administrated by the state Department of Administrative Services and must go through State Bond Commission which is chaired by Gov. Malloy.

“A new Middlesex County Fire School is essential to maintaining the public safety of every resident in the County. Our firefighters are asked to respond to an ever growing list of dangerous scenarios, and we must provide them with a safe and modern facility to learn the skills we rely on them to deliver,” said Rep. Carpino.

President Ct Fire Chiefs Association and Portland Fire Dept. Chief Robert Shea said, “The passage of the bill is an enormous victory for Middlesex County and the surrounding communities. Located in the center of the state, this training facility will provide state of the art training to our firefighters through our regional school who currently posts the most training hours of all the schools.  I extend my thanks for the hard work and determination of the training committee members who have worked for over 10 years for the construction of this school.”

A new Fire School would permit fire departments in the greater Middlesex County region an opportunity to obtain lifesaving skills in a safe environment. The school would provide a wide range of training classes from entry level through advanced, from vehicle extrication, rope rescue, fire strategy and tactics, to hazardous materials and weapons of mass destruction.