Local and state officials are looking into an incident that injured six firefighter trainees and an instructor for the Middlesex County Fire School run by Middletown Fire Chief John “Jay” Woron II during a live burn training session Saturday.
The students and the instructor, who were studying fire behavior evolution, had entered the live burn room in the town’s firefighter training tower Saturday morning when they realized the heat from the training fire was getting to high levels, said Newington Fire Marshal DJ Zordan.
“They retreated and several were burned,” Zordan said. Two of the seven received “moderate burn injuries,” while the other five had minor injuries, Zordan said. All were treated and released, he said.
Zordon was gathering information and evidence Monday to determine why the fire became so intense, he said.