Lyme Firefighter Bjornberg Fights Fires In Montana

A press release from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection:

Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced that the members of Connecticut’s second fire crew of the season returned home to Connecticut Wednesday with staggered arrival times of approximately 2:45 p.m. (seven firefighters), 7 p.m. (nine firefighters), and 11:45 p.m. (four firefighters) at Eastern District Headquarters, 209 Hebron Road, Marlborough.

The 20-person fire crew (14 DEEP employees and 6 local firefighters) left Connecticut on Aug. 13 and were sent to Lolo National Forest, Montana to assist fighting wild fires in the western part of that state. 

DEEP maintains a roster of agency staff members and personnel from local fire departments who have been certified to fight forest or wildfires.  Crew members must complete a rigorous training program and participate in an annual renewal course.
 
Connecticut maintains this firefighting capability to participate in a reciprocal aid program operated by the U.S. Forest Service.  Under this program, trained personnel from other parts of the nation are available to assist Connecticut in the event of a fire emergency – in return for personnel from this state being available to assist elsewhere.

CT DEEP Members of Connecticut Fire Crew:

Jason Bjornberg                 Lyme

Timothy M. Baird               East Granby

Mark Blazejak                     Voluntown

Eric Gileau                            Preston

Christopher Kostopoulos West Haven

Jeffrey Krukar                     Torrington

Thomas Nosal                      Middletown

Stacy Pappano                    Windsor

Thomas RisCassi                  Hartford

Richard Scalora                   Berlin

Michael Shaw                      Torrington

David Stygar                        Lebanon

James Villwock                    Durham

Justin Wiggins                     Newington