Winnebago County (IL) received $54 million of federal funds from the American Rescue plan yet less than $150,000 was awarded to local fire departments, WIFR.com reported.

More than a dozen representatives from Winnebago County fire departments were at Tuesday’s Winnebago County Board meeting to stress that they may have been short-changed when it comes to federal dollars, the report said.

Northwest Fire Chief Jerry Caskey believes more first responders across the county should be taken into account when it comes to federal funding through the American Rescue Plan, especially considering all the work they did at the start of the pandemic, the report said.

Caskey is also the vice president of the Winnebago Fire Chiefs Association, composed of fire chiefs from Winnebago and Boone counties.

North Park Fire District received $50,000 to help build a new fire station, but they say those funds only helped with part of the construction, the report said. Other districts weren’t as fortunate.

The city of Edwardsville is partnering with the Bank of Madison County to finance the construction of its new East Fire Station through the issuance of $6.87 million in general obligation bonds, RiverBender.com reported.

The city council on November 15 approved an ordinance authorizing the issuance of the bonds, the report said. The bonds will cover costs for the $5.1 million East Fire Station, 7407 Governors Parkway, the report said.

They also will cover the costs of a new aerial ladder fire truck and building improvements to the City’s Campus Fire Station at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, according to the report.

The East Fire Station is expected to open in November 2023. It will include 8,400 square feet of space, with three double bays to house multiple trucks and ambulances, the report said. Once opened, it will replace Station 2 on Montclaire Avenue, a smaller facility that opened in 1969.

Thomas Gase

Times-Herald, Vallejo, Calif.

(MCT)

Nov. 22—The Vallejo Fire Department (VFD) announced this week the completion of the installation and deployment of its new tone alert system in all active firehouses.

The VPD stated in a news release that it has “relied on an antiquated radio system that controlled station lights and speaker systems. This failing system had been nursed far beyond its useful lifespan and was often times inoperable in stations. Basic replacement parts were no longer available to make the repairs required to keep the system functional.”

The new Tone Alert system, which was approved by Vallejo city council using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, includes remote alerting modules placed throughout fire stations to notify firefighters of an emergency call. The system operates with its own power supply, redundancies, and backups. Red lights activate when a call is received, aiding in night vision and personnel alerting.

Additionally, the system utilizes Automated Voice Dispatching technology (AVD), which allows 9-1-1 dispatchers to remain on the phone with 9-1-1 callers while the system alerts the necessary firehouse(s). With the previous system, dispatchers would have to place callers on hold while dispatching stations, creating delays in response times. When activated, the AVD “voice” informs firefighters of the nature of the call they are responding to as they gear up and get ready to report to a scene, all while the dispatcher gathers additional information.

“This advanced knowledge of what firefighters are walking into helps them prepare for everything they may encounter on a call and allows our dispatchers to stay connected with callers at a critical time,” said Fire Chief Kyle Long in a news release. “At times, that could mean the difference between a life saved or lost.”

To learn more about funding for the Tone Alert project, visit MyVallejo.com/ARPA

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(c)2022 Times-Herald (Vallejo, Calif.)

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By Alan M. Petrillo

Decontaminating the inside of ambulances can be performed during routine maintenance, at the end of a shift, or after particular patient procedures such as when Aerosol Generating Procedures (AGPs) have been performed in the rig.

Emergency medical services (EMS) providers are using an array of decon equipment solutions to be sure their rigs are free of all types of contamination.

Jeff Hicks, OEM channel manager for Task Force Tips (TFT), says his company’s CrewProtect™ 100 apparatus decon System cleans the air in full size fire rigs and ambulances, removing cancer-causing particulates; volatile organic compounds (VOCs); and aerosols carrying viruses like CoV-2, bacteria, and mold. Hicks points out the system can be installed horizontally or vertically in any interior location using provided mounting brackets.

“CrewProtect uses a cartridge that will last six months,” Hicks says. “At five months, an indicator light comes on showing the amount of life left. The cartridges capture, encapsulate, and neutralize the airborne particles and turn them into harmless items. That means used cartridges are safe to be discarded as normal trash.”

Hicks notes that TFT also makes the CrewProtect 20 apparatus decon system, which he says is ideal for chiefs’ vehicles, wildland trucks, and tiller cabs. “CrewProtect cleans contaminants in the air and neutralizes odors but does not clean surfaces,” he says. “However, it cleans the air before contaminants can lodge on surfaces, because its chief aim is to get the contaminants out of the air before they can be inhaled. The system operates as long as the vehicle is running.”

Scott Hacker, vice president of sales and marketing for Toxic Suppression, says his company makes the Sentinel Purifier, an air and hard surface sanitizer that’s designed to operate while the vehicle is occupied. “The Sentinel Purifier uses needlepoint bipolar ionization (NPBI) from GPS air that neutralizes VOCs and pathogens, including four different efficacy tests vs. SARS-CoV-2,” Hacker says.

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