Mosheim VFD Gets Breathing Equipment
Last Updated: July 9, 2008: 2:05 PM CST
The Mosheim Volunteer Fire Department last week took delivery of 16 new sets of self-contained breathing apparatus and related equipment that was purchased with the proceeds of a 2007 federal Assistance to Firefighters grant.
Scott Allen, the department's chief, said it was awarded the $87,000 grant by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) last November.
The grant, he said, is the third awarded to the department in the last five years.
In 2004, Allen said, the department received a $135,000 grant to purchase a new fire engine. In 2005, the Mosheim VFD received a second grant of $78,000 to purchase new protective clothing and hand tools for its firefighters.
"The Assistance to Firefighters grant program is the best thing that has ever happened for small departments such as ours," Chief Allen said.
He pointed out that the latest grant enabled to the Mosheim VFD to purchase 16 sets of state-of-the-art, self-contained breathing apparatus that enable firefighters to breath while fighting fires in smoke-filled buildings.
The new units, Chief Allen said, meet the latest federal standards and are equipped with connections that allow firefighters to engage in "buddy breathing" in the event a firefighter runs out of air while inside a smoke-filled structure.
The new self-contained breathing apparatus units also are equipped with so-called "Rapid Intervention Team" connections that allow rescue teams to connect supplementary air sources to the units in the event a firefighter collapses inside a burning structure and has to be rescued.
Chief Allen said the Mosheim VFD also is scheduled to receive a Rapid Intervention Team kit with will include a special rescue unit along with specialized tools and connectors.
In addition, Allen said, the department was able to purchase 16 spare carbon-fiber air bottles for the self-contained breathing apparatus and a total of 32 face masks for the units.
Allen explained that the each Mosheim VFD firefighter has received one of the face masks to carry with his personal firefighting equipment. The remaining face masks will be attached to the self-contained breathing apparatus units that are carried on the department's fire trucks, he said.
