Chelan County Fire District 5 of Manson was awarded $131,745 for an application they submitted on January 15, 2016. The proposal in the application is to replace all SCBA. SCBA equipment is used to supply firefighters with breathable air during an active fire. The District’s current SCBA equipment has served the District well for over 13 years but many of the air cylinders in the system are nearing the end of the legal use life of 15 years. SCBA equipment is one of the most important pieces of Personal Protection Equipment firefighters don before entering an atmosphere that is immediately dangerous to life and health. The goal of obtaining this grant project was to immediately improve the health and safety of our firefighters. The award is 95% of the expected $138,332 projected cost. Local commitment for the remaining $6,587 will be provided by Fire District 5.

Chelan County Fire District 5 Chief, Arnold Baker has worked with the Firefighters of Fire District 5 to evaluate 4 major brands of SCBA. The firefighters scored each SCBA in 14 features to benefit Firefighting work operations. The awarded grant will allow the District to purchase the latest SCBA technology available which will assist our firefighters in providing superior service to our community.

The Assistance to Firefighters grants represent a major effort by the federal government to ensure the nation’s firefighters continue to have the basic capability they require to do their jobs, improve safety and save lives.

The new facility which is on leased land owned by Christian Fortin, consolidates the two other stations which were located in West Ferris (Ferris Drive) and at the old hospital site on Beatty Street.

"What it will do for the service in the district is it will be centralized so you are going to have a better distribution, everybody is in the same location as far as training is concerned, we will benefit from that," said Jean Guy Belzile, Nipissing EMS Manager.

"It's central to the highway, to highway 11 and 17 and it's also good on Wallace road to get to highway 63 to Thorne, Eldee and all those locations," said Belzile.

The open house schedule is:

Monday, Oct. 3: Station 2, 501 S. 28th St.
Tuesday, Oct. 4: Station 4, 475 Sixth St. W
Wednesday, Oct. 5: Station 3, 1928 17th St. W.
Thursday, Oct. 6: Station 5, 605 S. 24th St. W.
Friday, Oct. 7: Station 6, 1601 St. Andrews Drive
Tuesday, Oct. 11: Station 7, 1501 54th St. W.
Wednesday, Oct. 12: Station 1, 2305 Eighth Ave. N.

Officials said the "ambulance will allow DMACC EMT and Paramedic Program students to train inside a working ambulance. The interior equipment, plus the fact that training can be done with the vehicle is moving, adds opportunities for valuable hands-on experience. The training requires medical knowledge, critical thinking skills and swift action under pressure."

In the past, the school has occasionally rented a truck from the Urbandale Fire Department. The new truck can hold five firefighters and is equipped with a 750-gallon onboard water tank, more than 2,000 feet of hose, an electrical generator, and vehicle extrication tools.