The Nichols Fire Department has one of the most comprehensive training programs of any department in New England. The use of guest instructors from the state fire academy in conjunction with our own state certified instructors give firefighters a well-rounded education in fire service topics and techniques.

Drill is held every Thursday evening where firefighters study and practice fire behavior, forcible entry, engine and truck company operations, building construction, search and rescue, hazardous materials, high rise operations, motor pump operator and many more specific topics.

In addition to the regular drill schedule, Nichols and other companies in town host Firefighter 1 and 2 classes annually. We have approximately 40 state certified Firefighter I, and 28 state certified Firefighter II firefighters, providing the community with unsurpassed fire protection. We also allow our members to participate in almost any fire service class offered by the Connecticut Fire Academy or its affiliates.

Our department has been very fortunate to have structures donated to us by the community for live-fire training. We utilize these structures to train in a real world structural firefighting environment. Initially, we will conduct training on these structures that does not involve burning and fire supression. After these topics are practiced and exhausted, live fire training will begin. Donating a structure to the fire department is very beneficial to us for the training environment and experieince, but also saves the homeowner a considerable amount of money for demolition costs. When finished with training or when the house is deemed unsafe for training, we typically burn the house right to the ground.