MA Firefighters to Get 50 New Sets of Turnout Gear

PEABODY, MA—Hearing that 67 members of the Fire Department have bunker gear they wear to fight fires that dates back to 2011, and spare gear that is even older, the Finance Committee and full City Council Thursday approved a $100,000 capital request to purchase 50 new sets.

"(Fire Chief Joseph Daly) was concerned that the current gear was reaching the end of its life capacity," said Mayor Ted Bettencourt, presenting the request to the Finance Committee, "and that the firefighters needed the upgraded and the new turnout gear equipment."

The goal was to make sure the firefighters have the best equipment for the important and dangerous work they do, the mayor said.

"The chief has reviewed the age and condition of the department's current inventory and has determined there are approximately 50 sets of gear that need replacement," Bettencourt wrote in his letter to the City Council.

Bettencourt told the councilors Thursday he felt it was important enough to bring the request forward now as a capital request rather than wait to place this in the department's operating budget. Daly did a lot of research on the gear in coming up with the request.

As Bettencourt spoke, dozens of firefighters stood silently at the back of the Wiggin Auditorium of City Hall in a show of support for the request.

"I wanted to express my support and to thank the firefighters and those who are not able to be here," Bettencourt said.

Daly said 67 members of the department have first-line gear that dates back to 2011, and the gear has a lifespan of 10 years.

"Their backup gear is even older than that," Daly said.

"It's imperative we get this upgraded for the safety of everybody," Daley said, "my guys and the public."

In a perfect world, he said, firefighters would h/ave a set of gear that is new and one as a backup that is six years old. Every five years, firefighters would get a new set, and that rotation would continue. The goal would be not to have gear older than 10 years.

"It keeps everybody safe," Daly said. "You have a backup set of gear, and it also encompasses our exposure to cancer. We can keep our gear clean and protect our guys, thank you."

The department has 103 members and five vacancies, chief Daly said after the meeting, so the request would cover less than half of the firefighters.

While the appropriation does not cover the entire department, the plan is to move the cost of the bunker gear from the capital budget into the operating budget, with the goal of purchasing 20 new sets a year.

Councilor-at-large Anne Manning-Martin asked the chief if he planned to implement this gear rotation "moving forward with your budget, I hope."

"That's my intention. We've had preliminary discussions with the mayor," Daly said. "Our goal is to purchase 20 sets of gear moving forward, and that will create a pattern that will accomplish this mission."

Last year, the department succeeded in getting a Federal Emergency Management Agency Assistance to Firefighting Grant of $37,546, money which paid for two protective gear washers and two protective gear dryers. "We are highly capable of maintaining our equipment," Daly said.

Manning-Martin asked about whether the chief planned to seek grant money for the gear, and Daly said he is keeping an eye out, but such federal grants are hard to come by, with money going to departments that do not have such gear.

Daly said it will be about two months before the new bunker gear can be purchased.

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