That's why the Fond du Lac Fire Department recently purchased 25 bullet-proof vests and helmets.

Each vest weighs about 25 pounds, said Assistant Chief Todd Janquart. Though the vests hinder mobility, the added safety outweighs the inconvenience of wearing them, he said.

"The vests are worn at the discretion of the firefighter or chief based on the level of danger encountered. The vests will be kept in the trucks and used on an as-needed basis," Janquart said.

The vests consist of a plate of metal in the front and back made to withstand rounds shot from a high-powered rifle. The shoulder and waistline plates are slightly thinner but tough enough to withstand handgun rounds.

In recent years, first responders have encountered their share of violence.

In January, an Arkansas firefighter was shot and killed while responding to a call of a person having a seizure, and in 2012, four Webster, N.Y., firefighters were shot, two of them fatally, after a man set his house on fire and ambushed them as they approached.

These protect firefighters in life threatening smoky environments. Key new features in the $350,000 upgrade are better design for comfort and an important "buddy breathing" system that quickly allows firefighters to share their air supply if someone's pack gets damaged. The new units also have an important communication feature.


"With our new microphones we can hear each other a lot better in the field we've got an amplifier system built into the air module on the face piece so it just automatically amplifies what you're saying," Says Oliver White of the Rapid City Fire Department.

The Weslaco Fire Department on Thursday received 2016 Ford F-450 twin units equipped with 174-inch module boxes and mobile intensive care unit capabilities, including an on-board wireless router allowing EMS technicians to send critical information to the hospital where patients will be transported -- all while being treated on scene.


"They will get to the scene, get off the ambulance and actually walk into a residence with a heart monitor, start treatment in the house and transmit a telemetry reading. That's sent to the hospital where they'll be taking the patient," Lopez said Monday, using a hypothetical call as a for instance. 

"Before they would do that in the ambulance, but with this router we'll have a 300 feet bubble that'll allow them to send information from greater distances. That'll shave two or three minutes off the treatment plan."

The $340,000 lease purchase was made through the WFD's Apparatus Replacement Program, which dedicates 25 percent of the city's annual in-house EMS revenue -- about $1.6 million during the last fiscal year -- toward replacing department equipment.

Also purchased through the program was a new $525,000 fire truck, a 2016 Ferrara rescue pumper customized for WFD needs, including a 1,700 gallon-per-minute pump capable of carrying up to 1,000 gallons of water. The department's fire engines, with the exception of one, are currently equipped for 500 gallons, Lopez said.

"This is state of the art," the chief further noted about the new fire truck, which is due to arrive sometime in October.

Through the program, the city is leasing the ambulances for $68,000 a year over five years, and the fire truck at $52,000 for over 10 years.

At $170,000 apiece, Lopez said the new ambulances are among the first purchases made through the program and credited city leaders for their support in launching it.

The department averages about 8,500 calls per year with more than 6,000 coming in as requests for ambulance services. Each firefighter in Weslaco is cross-trained as a paramedic in order to maintain the department's dual function as an in-house EMS operation.

Technology has also changed the way firemen attack fires, including the apparel firemen wear when going into a burning structure.


"I really enjoyed the accomplishments of getting in, putting the fire out and saving what I could," he said.

"It's certainly a team effort. You have to trust each other and feel comfortable to go into a fire with these guys."

During his retirement reception, a number of fellow firemen sang his praises, saying he raised the bar for future firefighters, which brought tears to Knight's eyes.

"I'm going to miss you all," he said. "But I'll still be around at least another year."

He felt like it was time to find something else.

"I'm not as young as I used to be," he said. "This is God-driven. He's given me that step to retire."

He also works with Putnam County Emergency Medical Services, which he'll be staying with over the next year before moving to Ohio. His wife is in the process of moving up there.