Alexis—Cerro Gordo (IL) Fire Protection District super tanker. Spartan FC-94 MFD cab and chassis; Cummins L9 450-hp engine; Hale DSD 1,500-gpm pump; 1,800-gallon polypropylene water tank; 20-gallon foam cell; Trident FOAMATE ATP 2.1 single-agent foam system; Newton 10-inch electric stainless steel swivel dump valve; #304 stainless-steel body. Dealer: Stan Froelich, Alexis Fire Equipment, Alexis, IL.

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Decontaminating and removing dangerous carcinogens from a firefighter’s PPE gear and skin is crucial to their health. Ready Rack strives to continue pushing to make safer and stronger decon methods that are easy to apply to any fire department’s routine. The company’s latest advance is the new Ready™ Decon line, which features a detergent, PPE and surface cleaner, and skin wash.

All three solutions are developed using CDC-backed science specifically for first responders to protect themselves from harmful toxins that can degrade turnout gear while causing long-term illnesses. The Ready™ Decon line aims to be the strongest full-spectrum decontamination line available in the firefighting industry, cleaning all three major classes of contaminates, while also adhering to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1851, Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting (2000).

Ready™ Decon Detergent

Ready™ Decon Detergent washes and protects clothing and turnouts, making it easier than ever to make sure your protective gear lasts longer! Ready™ Decon Detergent can pull out dirt, toxic chemicals, metal oxides, plastic residue, soot, drug residue, and cationic nuclear isotopes from turnouts without including harmful chemicals such as D-limonene. The detergent also doesn’t contain any citrus-based solvents. Ready™ Decon Detergent keeps your gear clean without destroying it in the process!

Ready™ Decon PPE & Surface Cleaner:

Firehouse and PPE cleaners need to be tough without leaving anything harmful behind or damaging expensive gear. Many cleaners that take on oil, grease, and soot can damage team members or their PPE. For this reason, Ready™ Decon PPE & Surface Cleaner goes above and beyond typical all-purpose cleaners by meeting and exceeding NFPA 1851 when it comes to cleaning turnout gear. In addition to being safe to use on PPE, it is also safe for the fire apparatus, helmets, SCBA, and more!

Ready™ Decon Skin Cleanser

Ready™ Decon Skin Cleanser is a foaming soap designed to help firefighters safely lift away toxins from their skin after a job or handling dirty gear. This firehouse cleansing soap does not contain trisodium phosphates, which are dangerous to first responders because they may help transport toxins deeper into the skin layers and possibly into the bloodstream. Ready™ Decon Skin Cleanser does everything your regular soap does and more.

“The new Ready™ Decon line was some of the best we’ve used,” Ken Destree, a deputy fire chief from Cary, Illinois. “It worked great for getting our gear and firefighters safely cleaned and ready for the next call. We are excited to have these new products to address ongoing cancer concerns.”

Be sure to visit Ready Rack at FDIC International 2022 and learn more about the new Ready™ Decon product line.

The Seminole County Fire Department recently held a push-in ceremony for its second quint at Station 24 in Winter Springs.

“The Quint has five primary functions, hence its name, that serves as a cross or hybrid between a fire engine and ladder (Tower) truck,” the department writes on Facebook. “The five functions include (1) a pump, (2) water tank, (3) large diameter fire hose, (4) an aerial device, and (5) ground ladders.

“Thank you to Seminole County FL District 2 Commissioner Jay Zembower, Seminole County Board of County Commissioner Chairman Bob Dallari, City of Winter Springs Mayor Kevin McCann, and other city officials from the City of Winter Springs for attending today’s ceremony.”

This morning: Our #Quint 24 official push-in for service stationed out of Winter Springs Station 24. @winterspringsfl This is our second Quint serving @seminolecounty pic.twitter.com/6Rf77GeifJ

— Seminole County Fire Department (SCFD) PIO Media (@scfdpio) April 18, 2022

The Department of Natural Resources presented four Eastern Washington fire districts with surplus wildfire engines in a Spokane-based event on Monday, part of the agency’s annual effort to strengthen fire response in wildfire-prone rural areas.

“Local fire districts are an invaluable part of this great state’s efforts to fight wildfire,” Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz said. “They’re often the first lines of defense, able to reach ignitions early and keep them small. That then benefits DNR by reducing response times to wildfires, thereby reducing the potential for larger, more severe wildfires. It is truly a win-win situation.”

As Washington’s fire seasons have become more and more severe, rapid response time grows ever more critical. Just this past season, firefighters battled 1,872 fires across Washington – the second-most wildfires in record state history. More than 1.5 million acres have burned over the past two seasons. And yet, last year DNR was able to keep 94 percent of its fires to 10 acres or less, thanks in part to the agency’s fire district partners.

Providing Assistance to Frontline Communities

These fire engines were made available through a DNR program instated under Commissioner Franz. In 2017, the state Legislature authorized DNR to transfer ownership of surplus engines to rural fire districts in wildfire-prone areas at no cost to them. The program benefits towns, as well as DNR, our state’s wildfire fighting force, by reducing response times to wildfires, thereby reducing the potential for larger, more severe wildfires.

Commissioner Franz is committed to maintaining and expanding programs like this one by providing dedicated funding for firefighters and forest health across the state, ensuring Washington’s towns have the tools they need to be prepared to defend against wildfire, and to prevent massive fires from beginning in the first place.

Last year, DNR provided surplus engines to 17 rural fire districts around the state. This year, the agency will transfer 10 of its older engines to fire districts across Washington. Thanks to HB 1168, DNR hopes to more than double that number next fire season.

About DNR’s Wildfire Mission

Led by Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, DNR is responsible for preventing and fighting wildfires on 13 million acres of private, state and tribal-owned forestlands. DNR is the state’s wildfire fighting force and participates in Washington’s coordinated interagency approach to firefighting.