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Memorandum from State Fire Administrator Bryant Stevens
FROM: Bryant D. Stevens, New York State Fire Administrator
SUBJECT: Master Site Plan Study – State Preparedness Training Center
DATE: November 6, 2013
Fire service and emergency responder training has been the cornerstone of the Office of Fire Prevention and Control since the 1950s, and our commitment to training has only strengthened over the past six decades. OFPC’s 2010 merger into the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services created additional resources and opportunities to advance fire service training.
On numerous occasions, Commissioner Hauer has emphatically communicated his commitment to public safety and providing the state’s emergency responders, particularly the fire service, with "state of the art" training. To realize this goal, capital funds are needed to assure that New York state’s residential fire training facility is adequate to meet the need and demand. The benefits derived from this investment will prove instrumental to OFPC’s ability to provide the highest quality firefighter training over the next 25 to 30 years.
The Academy of Fire Science, in Montour Falls, is in need of significant capital enhancements in order to realize our goal of it being a "state of the art" facility and there are inherent limitations in its current location which limit future growth. The level of investment needed in the Academy infrastructure therefore necessitates a discussion regarding whether maintaining the Fire Academy in Montour Falls is the best choice, or whether it would be more beneficial to New York’s firefighters to relocate the Academy to the State Preparedness Training Center in Oriskany. Wherein fire service training could leverage the benefits derived from consolidation with the state’s commitment and existing investment in training of other emergency responders already being underway there.
All parties involved agree that the Oriskany site, in its current configuration, does not possess the capacity or the necessary facilities to accommodate residential fire training, and therefore, a significant investment in this facility would be needed as well. Therefore, DHSES will be engaging in a master site plan study of the Oriskany site to: identify the issues and decision points that need to be made in developing a sound facility plan; identify the pros and cons in relocating the Montour Falls operation to Oriskany; and outline the costs associated with the options.
I am contacting each of the state’s leading fire service associations to provide transparency and awareness of the ongoing study, and to ask that the associations in turn inform their membership. Please be aware that, outside of conducting a study, no decisions have been made regarding the future of the Montour Falls or the SPTC facilities. Further, no decision will be made until the facts have been gathered and properly analyzed.
Any decision regarding capital investments in New York’s residential fire training facilities will have a long lasting impact on fire training. This decision will not be taken lightly, and the needs of the firefighting community will be the driving force behind any decision.
We will keep you apprised of this process as we move forward.
Thank you for your continued support of firefighter training and the fire services of the state of New York.
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