“These fire suits have the latest safety features and better heat protection than the worn-out ones. It's difficult to replace these suits costing between $1,800-2,500 on a $12,000 a year budget,” said Jason Sands, safety officer and public information officer.

“We hope we are able to obtain new breathing units (SCBAs) in the near future to replace our old fleet, but it's hard to do when each one is $6,000.”

The more than $225,000 in funding helped to purchase 33 SCBAs, one air bottle and one spare bottle for each device, 38 face masks, 38 voice amplifiers for each mask and a pack tracking device that will allow for the location of a downed firefighter. The department’s previous inventory of equipment was more than 13 years old and no longer met National Fire Protection Agency specifications.

The Dresden Volunteer Fire Department has 46 members. It serves the Village of Dresden and townships of Cass, Jefferson and Madison.

While the Gander Fire Department’s rescue pumper truck has served its members well over the past 25 years, the department has decided to take it out of service.

A new custom rescue pumper is en route and the cost of repairs to the old one wasn’t justifiable.

There were issues with the front end, tires needing replacement and drivetrain problems.

“When we looked at the dollar value of the repair – estimated to run somewhere between $6,000 and $8,000 – and that fact that we’d be getting a new pumper in a couple of weeks, it just wasn’t worth it,” said Fire Chief Paul Fudge.

Fudge noted that the new truck has nothing to do with the old pumper being decommissioned, as it was ordered back in May. 

If the old pumper remained drivable it would have been phased out with the new arrival, he said.

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