Press Releases

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today announced $1,500,000 in Community Project Funding (CPF) for a new fire training facility at the Westbrook Regional Vocational Center, which serves students from Bonny Eagle, Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth, Gorham, Gray-New Gloucester, Greely, Scarborough, Portland, South Portland, Westbrook, Windham and Yarmouth. This funding is among more than $16.7 million in CPF Pingree secured for 15 community projects in Maine’s First District in the Fiscal Year 2024 government funding bills passed by the House today. 

“As Maine continues to experience a critical firefighter and EMS personnel staffing shortage, it’s imperative to train more students to fill these positions after graduation, and to keep current first responders up-to-date on their own training. And with just one existing facility in Cumberland County, a new training facility in Westbrook will make addressing this shortage more feasible,” said Pingree. “The federal funding I fought to include in the FY2024 Appropriations package will ensure the Westbrook fire service has the appropriate facilities to train these brave heroes – addressing the dire need and helping keep our communities safe.” 

“This project is going to positively impact the fire service, not just in the City of Westbrook but with all departments within Cumberland County. This training facility will provide those in the city’s vocational training program, area fire departments, as well as adult education a modern, state of the art facility,” said Westbrook Fire & Rescue Department Chief Stephen Sloan CFI II, CFPE. “We have been attempting to add a training facility in the greater Westbrook region for the last 20 years, and through the CPF and CDS program we will finally be able to make this happen.”

According to the Maine Bureau of Labor, fire departments should conduct fire training on an annual basis to ensure that each member receives sufficient training to respond to actual emergencies. Having an additional facility in the greater Westbrook area will allow more area departments to conduct these trainings on a regular basis. 

Background

Each year, the United States Congress considers and enacts annual appropriations bills that provide the federal government with the funding it needs to operate. In 2021, the House Appropriations Committee reestablished Community Project Funding after the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress found that congressionally directed spending boosted bipartisanship, facilitated member-to-member cooperation, and gave members an equal stake in the success of appropriations bills.

For the 2024 Fiscal Year, each House member was permitted to submit 15 projects for consideration, which had to be thoroughly vetted and publicly disclosed on their website.

Pingree has been a member of the House Appropriations Committee since 2013 and is Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.

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