LACKAWANNA, N.Y. — Lackawanna firefighters responded to 3,700 calls last year, and only 100 were for a fire. The rest were medical and emergency situations.
With crews facing a new challenge every day, they say training is crucial, and on Friday, they got some help. They will receive $235,000 to build a new, three-story training facility and purchase equipment through state funding.
With only 50 people in the department, it was important to keep paid firefighters nearby while training
"Being a small department makes it difficult to take firefighters and apparatus out of service to train at the county facilities," Lackawanna fire chief Jim Fino said. "This training facility will keep our firefighters and apparatus in the city and be able to respond when needed."
The new facility will be built on Steelawanna Avenue for this fall. The current county training center is in Cheektowaga, about 10 miles away.
The department will also purchase the Jaws of Life equipment to help get people out of vehicles involved in a crash.
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