Letter: Thank you, Norwalk, for supporting fire department

By Chief Denis McCarthy

Norwalk Fire Department

To the Editor:

NORWALK, Conn. – Thank you to the residents of Norwalk for your support of the Norwalk Fire Department. As we move into the new Central Fire Station this week, we are reminded again of how important you are to the completion of our safety mission. The new headquarters has been built with the primary goal of delivering exceptional service to the residents, businesses and visitors to our city.

We have used your investment wisely. Through the hard work of many members of the department, city staff and a hard working construction team we are opening this facility on time and on budget. The building has been built to be efficient and durable. This will allow us to respond quickly and adapt to the changing demand for services from your Fire Department. It will require minimal maintenance and it will last for generations. It has been built to be efficient and green. We expect to be certified Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Gold and this will be the first fire headquarters station in Connecticut to receive this certification.

We commit to you that we will use this community asset to meet the current and future challenges we face. The building has an internal training area which will promote skill development. Firefighters will transition from classroom lessons to practical skill development within the in-house training area. We continue to learn from several high profile emergencies in Norwalk over the past months and year. Firefighters are called to act in extreme circumstances on a moments notice. Our training insures that we can provide the very best emergency and rescue services and that our firefighter’s safety is always a priority.

The ccity’s Emergency Operation Center (EOC) is also housed in the new station and will coordinate and support emergency operations for the city as we prepare for, respond to and recover from emergency incidents. The EOC is staffed by a great collaborative team of city officials and community stakeholders and will also have identified areas for our private sector and non-profit partners to meet and work in so we can meet better meet the needs of residents and businesses.

On behalf of the department, we invite the whole community to attend our Dedication Ceremony at 2 p.m. Oct. 5. In the weeks and months to come we will host additional community tours of the new station.

Thank you from all of us

Chief Denis McCarthy

Norwalk Fire Department