Through the Ricochet PPE Award Program, Ricochet and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) are collaborating to provide top-notch personal protective equipment (PPE) to volunteer fire, EMS, and rescue departments throughout the United States.

The safety and efficacy of emergency responders depend on having the appropriate PPE for the appropriate reaction. However, funding for EMS, wilderness, and technical rescue equipment is a challenge for many volunteer units. In an effort to meet this requirement, Ricochet and the NVFC are offering departments gear packages tailored to these particular reactions.

August, September and October are the three separate application periods for the program. After each application period, five departments will receive five pieces of equipment (jackets and pants), for a total of fifteen departments and seventy-five sets of equipment. The following are the gear bundles and applicability periods:

• Ricochet Out Front Technical Rescue Gear is available from Aug. 3 to Aug. 31 at 12:00 EST.
• Ricochet Wildland Gear is open from Sept. 1 to Sept. 30 at 12:00 EST.
• Ricochet Wildland + Technical Rescue Dual-Cert Gear is available from Oct. 1 to Oct. 30 at 12:00 EST.

Departments must serve a population of 25,000 or fewer, have at least one NVFC member, be over 50 percent volunteer, be located in the United States and legally organized under state law and show a need for the gear in order to be eligible. Depending on their operational requirements, departments may apply for any or all of the gear packages; applying for one does not disqualify you from applying for another.

“Too many volunteer fire, EMS, and rescue departments send their responders on calls wearing the wrong type of gear due to limited budgets and resources,” said NVFC Chair Steve Hirsch. “The Ricochet PPE Award Program will equip more volunteer responders with the right gear for the call, improving safety, effectiveness, and readiness. We thank Ricochet for their support of the volunteer emergency services and for helping our nation’s departments be ready for all types of calls.”

“Volunteer departments don’t have the luxury of wasted gear, wasted time, or wasted budget – and we don’t take that lightly,” said Laura Miller, who is director of marketing and customer service at Ricochet. “We’re proud to build systems based on real firefighter input – gear designed for how the job actually gets done today, not how it used to be. The result is purpose-built protection that helps limit unnecessary exposure, improve mobility, extend the life of your turnout gear, and stretch every dollar further.”

Visit here to find out more about the program and the specifications of the equipment. Aug. 3 is the start of the initial application period.