Yesterday all 6 Democratic candidates for the Board of Directors, along with Board of Education candidate Mike Pohl, were informed that they have been endorsed by the Professional Firefighters of Manchester and the Uniformed Professional Firefighters of Connecticut. As with the police endorsement, this honor represents the strong show of support that the Democrats have among the rank and file firefighters throughout Manchester.Over the last two years, the Democrats have made significant commitments to Manchester's firefighters, including additional funding for firefighter training and professional development and supplies and equipment. They also purchased 2 new pumpers for Station 2 and 3 and a new paramedic response vehicle for Station 5.
Moreover, the Democrats have made Manchester a regional leader in emergency preparedness by increasing the funding for local preparedness in response to bioterrorism, working with town staff to conduct training and operations drills (including participating in the Statewide Strategic National Stockpile drill in April '06 and a day-long Pandemic/Influenza Continuity of Operations Drill in August '07) and working with federal representatives to obtain a $500,000 grant for a Regional Emergency Operations Center, which will serve as the base of operations for the region should something unforeseen occur.
