If your house burns down, every firefighter from every local town might come to the rescue.
But if there’s a forest fire, which firefighters are legally allowed to put it out is a question. There is a specialized force trained to fight forest fires. It’s called the Connecticut Interstate Fire Crew, and it’s comprised of both local firefighters and employees of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. But as Michael Kronick, Westport’s deputy fire chief said when he testified last week at the state capitol, only DEEP employees can fight forest fires in Connecticut.
If a firefighter is not employed by DEEP they cannot legally fight a forest fire. Kronick, up in Hartford on Valentine’s Day testifying in favor of a bill that would allow local firefighters to work against forest fires, made sure legislators understood that forest fires are a reality.