Press Releases
07/03/2025
DEEP Coordinates Deployment of 20-Person Wildland Fire Crew to Support Alaskan Wildfire Efforts
Crew Includes 18 from Connecticut and 2 from Rhode Island, Mobilized Through the Northeastern Forest Fire Protection Compact and Northeast Coordination Center.
(HARTFORD) –Today, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP)’s Forestry Division coordinated the mobilization of a 20-person wildland firefighting crew to assist with wildfire suppression efforts in Alaska.
The deployment was organized in coordination with the Northeastern Forest Fire Protection Compact (NFFPC) and Northeast Coordination Center and included 18 members from the Connecticut Interstate Fire Crew (CIFC), along with 2 members from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. The crew departed from DEEP’s Eastern District Headquarters in Marlborough on July 3rd, 2025.
This deployment marks the first crew assignment for CIFC members this wildfire season.
Crew members include a mix of full-time DEEP staff (seven members of this crew are full-time DEEP staff) and trained “call-when-needed” wildland firefighters who are certified to national wildland firefighting standards. All crew members volunteer for these assignments and have received training in wildfire suppression tactics, safety, and incident command.
DEEP’s Forestry Division coordinates the Connecticut Interstate Fire Crew (CIFC), for which it maintains a roster of agency staff members and private individuals, many associated with local fire departments, who have been certified to fight forest or wildfires. Crew members must complete a rigorous training program and participate in an annual physical work capacity test and refresher training.
Connecticut maintains this firefighting capability to participate in a reciprocal aid program operated by the U.S. Forest Service. Under this program, trained personnel from other parts of the nation are available to assist Connecticut in the event of a fire emergency or other natural disaster in return for the support of Connecticut personnel when needed. The importance of this partnership was demonstrated during our historic fall wildfire season last year, when firefighters came from various states (and even from Quebec, Canada) to assist us in response to the Hawthorne Fire in Berlin and countless other fires that started during that time.
All state agency expenses directly associated with these deployments are 100% reimbursed to the State by the U.S. Forest Service.
For more information on the Connecticut Interstate Fire Crew (CIFC), please visit: Connecticut Interstate Fire Crew
For more on the Northeastern Forest Fire Protection Compact, visit: www.nffpc.org- Twitter: @CTDEEPNews
- Facebook: DEEP on Facebook
Contact
DEEP Communications
DEEP.communications@ct.gov
860-424-3110