Playing With Fire: Botsford FD

At Burn Drill In Danbury

DANBURY — The Danbury Fire Department Training Grounds recently became available for use by area fire departments for various firefighting training scenarios. The City of Danbury built a concrete burn building that allows firefighters to simulate realistic fire conditions that are found in building fires. The training grounds are located on Plumtrees Road near the site of the former landfill.

On Sunday, April 6, Botsford Fire Rescue took advantage of the training grounds to conduct its OSHA mandated Live Burn Evolutions at the site. Under the direction of Chief Wayne Ciaccia, approximately 20 firefighters with Engine 551 ran numerous evolutions, which included fire attack, search and rescue, and ventilation.

“We have no buildings like this to use [in Newtown],” Chief Ciaccia said this week. “We pay out of our training fund to do something like this.”

Danbury Fire Department began allowing fire companies from outside the City of Danbury to train at the facility earlier this year. Visiting fire companies are charged a moderate fee that covers the cost of Danbury providing one of its firefighters on site as a Danbury representative and safety officer.