Lobbying Wins Rockland Firefighters A New Burn Building

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — County Executive Ed Day signed two resolutions this week for a new burn building at Rockland's Fire Training Center in Pomona. The $9 million construction project is expected to start in the late fall.

Burn buildings give trainees the ability to practice fighting fires in a controlled environment. The county's old one was demolished.

Volunteer firefighters have been lobbying county officials to get started on the project. The Rockland County Legislature voted unanimously April 5 to allow the county to sell bonds to fund it.

More than a dozen firefighters, including volunteer firefighter and Laurie Santulli County Legislator, and Fire & Emergency Services Director Chris Kear were on hand at the signing, according to the county's Facebook page.

Santulli said funding the equipment and facilities needed by the local volunteer firefighting community is essential to the safety of all Rockland residents and businesses, including the volunteers themselves.

"The volunteers are the ones who get out of their beds in the middle of the night to respond to a house fire, who show up to a car accident when it's freezing outside or 95 degrees," she said in a news release. "They spend their personal time attending classes and training sessions, because the training can never stop if you want to ensure their safety and their ability to safely take care of us.”

Santulli is a former volunteer firefighter who served first with the New City Fire Department and then the Congers Fire Department. Her husband, Dominic, is an active member of the West Nyack Fire Department, along with their son, Tommy.

“I’m proud to say that the members of the County Legislature have done our part to support the type of projects that will contribute toward these goals," she said, pointing out that lawmakers approved more than $20.45 million for bonding and projects on the grounds of the Rockland County Fire Training Center, including the $9 million replacement of the burn building

Among the other projects approved by the Rockland County Legislature:

• $2.8 million for FTC Building Infrastructure Improvements (Plumbing work, HVAC work, concrete pads, electrical work, engineering design for burn building, etc.).
• $4 million for Firematic Training Site (Includes tower, burn and safety buildings, other related firematic training support services – demolition and removal work, installation of burn container, engineering work, etc.).
• $2.7 million for FTC Electrical Systems Upgrade and Improvements.
• $500,000 for FTC and Special Operations Teams Equipment Replacement (Specialized training and response equipment is needed for the county HazMat Response Team and the county Technical Rescue Team.).
• $600,000 for replacement of two-decade-old fire engine (Used by Rockland’s 26 volunteer fire departments and for customers who pay to train at the fire training center.).
• $100,000 for the purchase of a Bobcat (To move heavy materials).
• $9 million for new Burn Building (Will help train fire personnel in fire theory, methods and rescue operations. Building to have fire resistant materials and multiple levels to represent residential and commercial building construction and live burn rooms using propane.).
• $750,000 – Hazmat Foam Pumper (Replaces 25-year-old pumper, carries 750 gallons of foam concentrate for rapid fire suppression of flammable liquids and chemicals.).

Rockland firefighters have long been concerned about safety conditions in parts of the county.

SEE:

• NY Asks Rockland to Take Over Fire Inspections at Some Private Schools
• Arrests In Fatal Fire At Rockland County Adult Home
• Site Of Apartment Fire Full Of Safety Violations: County
• Rockland Firefighters, Officials Call for State to Intervene in Code Enforcement