A firefighter training campus in town would help cut back on the trek firefighters from the southeastern part of the state make to reach the state’s fire training campuses in central and western Massachusetts.
Instead, recruits would learn rescue and firefighting skills in the area, lessening the need for them to travel to the Massachsuetts Firefighting Academy campuses in Stow and Springfield, which can be at least an hour’s drive away. “It will serve the region well because we’ll be able to provide all the levels of training of fire services closer to home,” said State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey.
The Department of Fire Services, which oversees the firefighter academy, has put aside $3.2 million in its Fiscal 2020 budget to develop the training facility on an 18-acre site located at a former Department of Correction treatment facility in Bridgewater.
He said the goal is to bring in temporary props to have the campus ready for a recruit class to start in January.