22-05-2025
Local lawmakers, officials learn the ropes at Allegheny County Fire Training Academy
State lawmakers, City of Pittsburgh representatives, and other local decision makers spent Thursday morning at the Allegheny County Fire Training Academy to get hands-on experience from the perspective of a first responder.
More than two dozen Pennsylvania state legislators and other officials geared up for Fire Ops 101, an opportunity for them to see what it takes to save lives every day.
'What does the equipment do? Why does it cost so much? What happens? This actually shows them,' said Darrin Kelly, president of Allegheny County Labor Council and a Pittsburgh city firefighter.
Participants were on a mission to learn even more about public safety, from live fire training, search-and-rescue operations, CPR, and much more.
'What everyone calls the Jaws of Life – get to cut someone out of a car,' said Tim Leech, vice president of Pittsburgh Fire Fighters IAFF Local No. 1
State Senator Doug Mastriano (R) is the chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee. He told Channel 11 this experience could shape the way he and others vote in Harrisburg.
'This will help me as a leader of that group to hopefully get a taste of what they do, hope to get an understanding of what they need, and I can serve them better in that capacity,' Mastriano said.
Channel 11 spoke with some firefighters about the importance of mental health in life-or-death situations and when it comes to line-of-duty injuries. They're hoping this helps to continue the conversation at the State Capitol in Harrisburg and beyond.
'For years, this was a stigma in public safety that we've all worked so hard to push aside – the image that you're rough and tough and you can take anything. Sure, these are people that are so strong, but they're human beings,' Kelly said.
'The first time I was here, they didn't have worker's compensation coverage for post-traumatic stress injury. We've spent the last couple of years, we've finally got that to the governor's desk,' said State Sen. Lindsey Williams (D) - Senate District 38.
MSA– The Safety Company provided all of the helmets and protective gear for participants.
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