Case, Miner, Piscopo Call for Funding to Burrville Fire Training School

Hartford – State Representatives Jay Case (R-63), Craig Miner (R-66), and John Piscopo (R-76) are calling for the state to allocate funding to the Burrville Fire Training School in Torrington. The money will go to equipment upgrades and building renovations.

It was reported at the Annual Meeting of Regional Fire Schools meeting, which was held at the Legislative Office Building Monday morning, that the Burrville Fire Training School in Torrington is slated to receive a bond allocation for expansion construction costs in the coming months.

“We are advocating for the approval of a $13.2 million bond allocation for costs associated with the construction and upgrades of Burrville Fire Training School,” explained Rep. Case, “At the state level we set high safety and training requirements for our local fire departments. It is a core function of government to provide the necessary resources for our local departments, especially our volunteer departments, for adequate training and education.”

“We need the state to not only provide funding on this capital investment, but also for ongoing fire safety training,” said Rep. Miner, “If public safety is not a core function of government, then I do not know what is.”

There are currently 9 regional fire training schools scattered across the state. Primarily, these training schools are a crucial resource for volunteer fire organizations. For example, the Torrington Fire Department’s career firefighters do not access the regional, state-funded school as much as their volunteer counterparts.

“It is absolutely critical that the Burrville Fire Training School receives the funds necessary to begin the process of making much needed upgrades and renovations to its facility,” said Rep. Piscopo. “Fire Training Schools are important to the public safety of our communities; having adequate resources to train our first responders serves that core function of government.”

###