nothin New Cop Firing Range, Fire Truck & Radios Get… | New Haven Independent

New Cop Firing Range, Fire Truck & Radios Get OKs

Paul Bass Photo

Zinn with Police Chief Dean Esserman testifying at Tuesday night’s hearing.

Wingate: “Long overdue.”

It looks like cops honing their shooting skills will soon fire their guns inside, not outdoors. And Brenda Foskey-Cyrus will be able to keep her windows open.

That was the upshot of a vote Tuesday night by the Board of Alders Public Safety Committee.

The committee voted unanimously to allow the city to accept an already-approved $1 million state bonding grant to fix up a former West Rock Army reserve center at 200 Wintergreen Ave. to house a new indoor police firing range as well as a new home for the police training academy.

The committee also voted unanimously to authorize the city to apply for $1.2 million from the federal Department of Homeland Security to buy a new heavy duty rescue vehicle” and 95 portable radios for the fire department.

Both measures now advance to the full Board of Alders for final approval.

They both received hearty support from the seven alders voting at Tuesday night’s committee meeting.

This is long overdue,” Beaver Hills Alder Brian Wingate said of the planned move of the police firing range. I’ve talked to a lot of my constituents. They are very, very excited about this moving.”

Right now the firing range is located outdoors at the police training academy at 710 Sherman Parkway in Newhallville. Neighbors have complained for years about being disturbed from the noise from the firing range as well as at times unclear whether they were hearing street gunfire.

Foskey-Cyrus: Ready to open windows.

I can’t wait for them to move,” seconded Newhallville Alder Brenda Foskey-Cyrus, who lives across the street from the Sherman Parkway facility. I can’t open my windows” because of the noise from the firing range.

Teachers and students hear the gunfire at Lincoln-Bassett, Hillhouse High, and King Robinson Schools, she said.

You can hear it as far as Hamden,” noted committee Chair Gerald Antunes, a Bishop Woods alder and a retired city cop.

The $1 million in state money under consideration Tuesday night — along with $250,000 requested in the city’s upcoming fiscal year capital projects budget — would pay to renovate existing facilities at the West Rock training facility for a state of the art” indoor facility that will enable cops to train in all weather, at all times of day at night, and to move around to simulate real-life shooting situations, Capt. Julie Johnson, who runs the training academy, told the alders.

Johnson: Bigger, newer training space needed.

She said the training academy has outgrown its present facility, as well. The new space at West Rock will enable recruit classes and veteran in-service trainees to share the building at the same time; will open up more classroom space; add a gym; and enable cops to take part in indoor motor-vehicle simulation drills, Johnson said.

City Engineer Giovanni Zinn said the West Rock facility is overall in good shape and already conducive to many of the uses planned for the training academy. He said he doesn’t foresee major environmental clean-up problems, either. He said the plan is to begin work this year, assuming the funding request grains final approval.

The police department’s vehicle-maintenance operation will remain at the Sherman Parkway facility under the plan.

The fire department, meanwhile, has been spending more and more money trying to maintain failing police radios purchased in the 1990s and early 2000s, Chief Ralph Black told the committee. He said all firefighters go out on calls with radios, and they need modern, working equipment.

Black with city Chief Adminsitrative Officer Mike Carter at the hearing.

The requested new rescue vehicle will consolidate all needed equipment — such as trench rescue and rope rescue equipment — on one truck, Black said. Now the department stores the equipment in several satellite” vehicles.

The vehicle would serve the department citywide.

The equipment on the two existing [tactical] engines will be consolidated onto this new rescue. The trained personnel from one of the companies will be redeployed to meet an existing need for additional paramedics for medical response citywide,” according to a statement the fire department submitted to the alders. In 2014 there were approximately 2000 incidents (hazardous, MVA, extrications) that a rescue would have been useful for deployment in needed responses.

The City/FD will be saving money by sending only one apparatus and staffing only 5 positions on this 1 rescue; we would not have to send 2 engine companies with 9 firefighters on them. By consolidating 2 engines into 1, this will release the other to provide much needed Emergency Medical Service (EMS) for Advanced Life Support (ALS) service to the residents of the City of New Haven.

We have about 13,000 ALS calls per year. We will now be able to respond to more calls while receiving revenue for hospital transport.”

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