Reps. McGorty, Perillo Listen to Firefighters and EMS Officials Priorities for 2020

HARTFORD – The bipartisan Fire and EMS Legislative Caucus held their first meeting of the New Year on Monday, Jan 7th, to talk and listen to Fire and EMS officials about their priorities for the 2020 Legislative Session, which starts on Wednesday, February 5th.

Rep. McGorty, who co-chairs the bipartisan caucus, said, “We have a great group of lawmakers who sit on the Fire and EMS Caucus with a lot of experience and knowledge about Firefighters and EMS. With our combined knowledge, and giving Firefighters and EMS a voice at the table, we can move legislation forward that benefits our Firefighters and EMS and gives them the tools to do their jobs effectively.”

Rep. Perillo added, “Last session we were able to pass bipartisan legislation to provide post-traumatic stress disorder benefits to police and firefighters. The PTSD legislation that passed was a good first step, but we need to work together to find a way to include all public safety officials. I will be advocating for this to happen during the 2020 session.”

During the meeting, John Carew of the Connecticut State Fire Association said that moving the bonding and funding of the regional fire training schools forward is a priority for their association.

Governor Ned Lamont promised, in 2018 during his campaign for governor, that he would move the funding forward to build the Valley Fire Training School. Yet, the governor has failed to keep his promise and the ready to build Fire Training School has not moved forward.

Reps. McGorty, Perillo and Republican Valley lawmakers have been vocal about the governor not keeping his promise. Reps. McGorty and Perillo said they will continue to keep the pressure on the governor to move the funding forward for the Valley Fire Training School.

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