Joan Lynch
The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, Calif.)
(TNS)

Oct. 11—Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services is getting a new home for its training operations on Union Road.

The Union Road Fire Training Facility — a master planned development for the fire department — has been in the works since 2021, and recently saw the completion of Fire Station No. 3 at the corner of Ardmore Road and Union Road.

At Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting, the other half of the development was unanimously approved 6-0.

The project will include overall frontage improvements and will call for the construction of two buildings behind Fire Station No. 3: a 3,600 square-foot training building and a 43-foot-tall training tower structure.

Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services deputy chief Randy Harris said the training facility is badly needed for a growing city.

“The needs for this are huge — we do not have a local academy,” Harris said. “Our closest academy to the north is in Monterey, and our closest academy to the south is in Lompoc, so when we look at the regional aspect of this, we’re looking at partnering with Cuesta College and actually having a local academy where we can have youth kind of come up from high school to college and hopefully be able to get their public safety credentials — both police and fire — locally.”

What will new training facility look like?

The area surrounding Fire Station No. 3 was originally supposed to be a police substation, but was reorganized to be a corporation yard at an August Planning Commission meeting, according to the staff report.

The new training buildings will host state-required training that the fire department’s current facilities are not capable of supporting — a gap that earned the department a zero out of 35 by the Insurance Service Office, according to the staff report.

The training building will match the existing fire station’s appearance and will sit behind the main building, bordering some of the open storage space.

The training tower is a different story. The tower will be constructed from stacked sea train containers, which can be replaced if individual units are damaged during live fire training exercises, according to the staff report.

“The overall scope of a fire training facility usually focuses on the tower and that’s because that’s such a unique material and property that has to hold up to fire over time,” Harris said. “It used to be you’d build these giant concrete structures, and over the years of setting them on fire, the concrete actually starts to spall and starts to lose strength.”

Stacked four-and-a-half units high, the containers would also feature shingled roofs and a range of interiors and points of entry, allowing firefighters to practice different types of rescues, Harris said.

Each container will be modified to resemble a dwelling before being shipped to the site and stacked, allowing for changes and improvements over time.

Both of the new structures will be used by the fire department and Paso Robles Police Department for training, Harris said.

How long will construction take?

According to the city’s 2024-25 budget, the tower and training building will cost around $5 million, drawing its funding from Measure J-20.

Construction is expected to end by 2027, according to the budget.

According to the budget, a potential Phase III of the development could introduce new permanent living quarters along the east side of the station, though designs won’t be completed until the 2026-27 fiscal year at the earliest.

“This project is d

Mary Ellen Godin
Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
(TNS)

Oct. 11—MERIDEN — Fire and police officials made dramatic pitches Tuesday for needed repairs at their facilities, including showing pictures of black mold at Fire Station 5 on East Main Street.

The fire chief and deputy fire chief told members of the City Council’s Finance Committee they have been patching roof leaks that are spreading to the floors and walls.

“We’ve had multiple firefighters file compensation claims for respiratory issues caused by mold,” said Deputy Chief Cristina Schoeck. “There are structural issues from the rain coming down from outside.”

The committee met Tuesday to discuss and vote on allocating the remaining $3.7 million American Rescue Plan Act funds. It agreed to give the Fire Department funds to fix both roofs.

“They’ve been patching it, but it’s gotten so bad it’s at the point it’s not worth it,” said Fire Chief Ken Morgan.

City Manager Brian Daniels told the committee both buildings were in “terrible” condition and he has had extensive discussions with department administrators about not making interior repairs without replacing the roofs.

The presentation led to discussions among committee members on how the issue was overlooked. They expressed concerns about the firefighters’ health.

“They have made multiple requests that for some reason were rejected,” said Councilwoman Yvette Cortez, who chairs the Public Safety Committee.

A delay occurred when the city had seriously considered building its dispatch center at the Pratt Street firehouse. The proposal would have called for a new roof and other improvements. However, the city opted to rebuild a new center next to the police station, forcing the department to scramble to find funds for roof repairs.

Daniels invited city councilors to tour the two stations to see the conditions.

“These pictures don’t begin to show the conditions inside these buildings,” Daniels said.

Police Chief Roberto Rosado also shared a request for $1.4 million to cover the overrun on the proposed cellblock renovation project. The Police Department is about to redesign its floor plan in three phases. The city has allotted $3.3 million in its capital improvement plan, but according to early estimates, more is needed.

A point of grave concern is a detention area where a prisoner committed suicide in January 2016. Soon afterward, the police union filed a grievance against the department, claiming “unsafe conditions” at the station. The union was reassured the situation would be corrected.

“This has been our goal to reduce the risk to prisoners and officers and prevent another suicide,” Rosado said.

The women’s locker room also needs to be expanded to account for more women joining the force. There are currently 20 lockers for 20 female officers; any new female officers would have to share a locker. Juvenile detention facilities are currently off a detective room and have no bathroom.

Both the police and fire requests were part of the final accounting of $36.3 million in ARPA funding that has to be fully allocated by December.

According to Daniels, allocations to city, community, and economic development programs such as Meriden Big left $4.1 million to spend.

The Finance Committee voted Tuesday to approve the police cellblock project, the two firehouse roofs, a $1 million ramp project, a tractor at Hunter’s Golf Course for $70,000, a generator at Meriden Inn for $15,000, $70,000 for Maloney’s Pub, $110,000 for paving at Amer

PRESS RELEASE

TOLEDO, Ohio – During National Fire Prevention Week, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), a senior Member of the House Appropriations Committee and of the House Fire Caucus, announced $3,052,523 in critical federal funding she helped to secure. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighter Grant (AFG) and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) programs will award nine fire departments across northwest Ohio new funding to ensure that first responders have the resources and manpower they need to protect local communities. These awards will provide essential funding for equipment, protective gear, vehicle acquisition, hiring, and training, enabling fire department to respond more effectively to emergencies and keep both the public and our emergency personnel safe.

The nine fire departments in northwest Ohio receiving AFG and SAFER funding are:

• Village of Sherwood Volunteer Fire Department – $75,428
  • The AFG funds will help the Village of Sherwood Volunteer Fire Department in Defiance County to afford operations and safety improvements, including the purchase of eight new Self-Contained Breathing Apparatuses (SCBA) and replace outdated ones.
• City of Wauseon Fire Department – $53,522
  • The AFG funds will allow the City of Wauseon in Fulton County to purchase a Three Drop Source Capture Exhaust System that will help ensure all Fire Apparatus can utilize the system when parked in the bay. This will minimize their staff’s exposure to cancer causing exhaust contaminants. The City of Wauseon share of the cost is $2,676.14.
• Village of Whitehouse Fire Department – $294,214
  • The AFG funds will be used by the Village of Whitehouse in Lucas County to upgrade operations and safety with new Self-Contained Breathing Apparatuses (SCBA).
• City of Vermilion Volunteer Fire Department– $302,182
  • The AFG funds will be used by the City of Vermillion in Erie County to upgrade operations and safety by replacing outdated air packs for firefighters to better and more safely protect residents
• Village of Kelleys Island Volunteer Fire Department – $75,361
  • The AFG funds will be used by the Village of Kelleys Island in Erie County for operations and equipment, and will replace aged firehose, handline nozzles, and an additional ground monitor. This equipment will not only be an upgrade, but it will be major upgrades that meet current standards replacing outdated hoses that are 20-30 years old, many of which were donated by other fire departments.
• City of Huron Fire Department – $135,523
  • The AFG funds will be used by the City of Huron in Erie County to replace bunker gear for the entire department. This will ensure the department is compliant with safety and equipment upgrades.
• Monclova Township Fire Department – $1,013,046
  • The SAFER funds will be used by Monclova Township in Lucas County for the hiring of additional full-time firefighters for their department, including wages and benefits.
• Village of Oak Harbor, Portage Fire District – $163,428
  • The AFG funds will be used by the Village of Oak Harbor in Ottawa County for operations and safety improvements and upgrades, including the replacement of soon to be outdated Self-Contained Breathing Apparatuses (SCBA).
• City of Northwood Fire Department – $939,