MARLBOROUGH, Conn — A team from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is on the ground in Washington and headed to Oregon to help contain the massive number of wildfires still burning in numerous areas, scorching thousands of acres.
Rich Schenk, the fire control officer from the DEEP who works out of the Eastern District Office, helps to coordinate the deployment of the Interstate Fire Crew. The crew consists of 20 men and women.
Schenk said, “It’s a mix of private sector people, some volunteers and paid fire department [members] and also some who are employees of the [DEEP] agency.”
The Connecticut crew has been in Washington state for the past week and is now heading to fight another wildfire in Oregon.
Schenk, who has been deployed to fight a number of wildfires before, said, “You take little bits out of the fire and fight it where you can.”
He added that the country is on high alert for wildfires this summer once again.
Schenk said, “The Western United States and specifically the Northeast corner of our country is really hot, very dry and they’re experiencing a lot of fires.”
With his crew on the way to Oregon and expected to return from their deployment next week, Schenk said of the fire crew, “It is a white hat program that I’ve been proud to be part of and I see that same pride in all of our firefighters.”
Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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