WeHa FD Gets Cash For Rope Rescue Training

WEST HARTFORD, CT — With an easy, 9-0 vote, the West Hartford Town Council recently approved funding to ensure firefighters get the proper training for one of their most dangerous tasks.

The unanimous, bipartisan vote on Sept. 14 finalized a resolution to share costs with the New Britain Fire Department to send a combined 16 firefighters from each department to special rope-rescue training.

Such training will help firefighters rescue people in trees, on buildings and on cliffs/mountains — anywhere ropes are needed to both gain access to a person in distress or take a victim to safety.

West Hartford and New Britain are sharing a $365,745.45 grant from the federal government in the form of a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) "Assistance to Firefighters" grant.

West Hartford Town Manager Rick Ledwith said this was awarded in July.

The purpose of the grant program is to help emergency services agencies purchase necessary equipment, protective gear, vehicles, training and anything else a fire department may need.

In this instance, the funding will cover the costs for 16 firefighters between the two departments to take a two-day rope training course for practice for some of the most harrowing emergencies.

According to the approved resolution, the training classes themselves cost $62,400 and $56,400 for necessary materials and equipment.

The rest of the grant will cover personnel overtime so other firefighters can cover the shifts of those in training.

As part of the grant program, the applicants — West Hartford and New Britain — must come up with a 10 percent match via the departments' operating budgets.

"As a condition of this award, the town is required to be the host community and it is required to contribute $36,574, 50 percent of that paid for by the Town of West Hartford and the other paid by the City of New Britain," Ledwith said.

Ledwith also thanked U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., for their input in helping the applicants gain the FEMA grant.

For the minutes of the Sept. 12 West Hartford Town Council meeting, click on this link.

For links to the approved resolution language and more information, click on this link.