If you have spent time at Foxwoods Resort Casino, have you ever thought about who is keeping you safe?
In the case of a fire or a medical emergency, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Fire Department steps in, and now the department is getting new funding for its work through two FEMA grants.
They get an average of 35 calls a week, and when it is time to respond, the 26 firefighters at the fire department spring into action.
“Bottom line, one word: Preparedness. We're prepared to respond to any kind of emergency called upon us,” Chief Floyd Chaney Jr., fire marshal and emergency manager for the Mashantucket Pequot Fire Department, said.
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With weekly drills, they prep for the unique situations they could encounter at Foxwoods Resort Casino, like possibly needing to make rescues dozens of floors up.
“They are practicing elevated rescue for someone that is on the roof. Get them off the roof and bring them down to the ambulance,” Chaney said.
On Tuesday, firefighters played out that scenario of evacuating a victim from a top floor, using a truck ladder to bring the stretcher to safety in the grass.
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Now the EMT-trained firefighters will have the opportunity to take on more specialized trainings like that, thanks to the new FEMA grants coming to the department.
One grant from FEMA’s Tribal Homeland Security Grant program provides $128,000 that will fund specialized training in rope, confined space and elevator rescues, which firefighters could need to execute in the casino’s high rises.
“The first priority is elevator rescue. On the reservation itself, we have 105 elevators,” Chaney said.
The crews are also getting the equipment to it. Another $138,000 from the FEMA Assistance for Firefighters Grant will fund replacing firefighter protection gear for the entire department.
“From helmet, to hoods, to gloves, to boots, to pants, to coat, which altogether is about a $5,000 price tag per unit,” Chaney said.
Both grants aim to help firefighters better safeguard the lives of thousands. Not only does the Mashantucket Pequot Fire Department respond to the needs of 200 residents in the Tribal community, but also to Foxwoods Resort Casino. On the weekends, that attraction could have up to 10,000 visitors.
When the new Great Wolf Water Lodge opens, Chaney expects it will draw an additional 11,000 people each weekend.
“We get thousands of people here daily,” he said.
The significance of these specialized trainings were brought to the forefront in 2017, when Mashantucket Pequot crews responded to a fire that broke out on the 21st floor of the Grand Pequot Tower.
NBC Connecticut reported at the time that thanks to their high-rise training, firefighters evacuated the hotel and put the fire out in about 10 minutes.
Chaney said the department’s work is lifesaving.
“Every day, we don't know what call is going to come in, so they respond hoping for the best,” he said. “Our goal is to make the Tribal nation, the reservation, and Foxwoods Casino Resort as safe as possible.”
Now, with continued practice, they hope to prove that if you make one rescue, you’re a hero; but if you rescue many, you are a firefighter.
This is not the first time the fire department has received FEMA grants. A few years ago, they got funding to buy extrication equipment for car accidents, as well as a UTV, which gives crews access to all the trails on the reservation property.
