Bronson Fire gets grant for lighter gear for firefighter safety

Don Reid, Coldwater Daily Reporter
·2 min read

The Michigan Treasury awarded the Bronson Fire Department $70,000 in a fire equipment grant to purchase personal protective equipment to increase firefighter safety.

With the department spending more time covering first-response medical calls, vehicle crashes, and brush fires, Chief Scott Wilber asked for funds so Bronson firefighters would have lighter gear.

All calls now are answered in the traditional heavy structural firefighting turnout gear. 

Heavy canvas turnout gear is too hot for grass fires, medical first response and traffic crash calls.
Heavy canvas turnout gear is too hot for grass fires, medical first response and traffic crash calls.

The chief said the new 25 sets of lighter-weight dual-certified wildland/extrication coats and pants for the non-structure calls would significantly reduce the chance of overexertion and heat-related injury. 

The suits come with 25 sets of special boots. “These boots are made for the same purpose and are lighter, breath better, and are less cumbersome than those made for fighting structure fires,” he said.

Structural turnout gear insulates firefighters from the extreme heat of a structure fire and have a moisture barrier to protect from steam burns. 

The heavy canvas-like suits do not allow body heat to escape. “That is counterproductive when responding to emergencies other than structure and vehicle fires,” Wilber explained. 

Bronson Fire Chief Scott Wilber
Bronson Fire Chief Scott Wilber

Carcinogens found in smoke can reach the skin around the head and neck. The grants provide 25 particulate-blocking firefighting hoods to keep smoke from getting to firefighters’ skin. 

The grant also allows the purchase of replacement of outdated gear. Regulations require firefighters' gloves and turnout gear be replaced every 10 years. The grant provides funds to replace four sets of structural turnout gear near expiration, plus 10 sets of gloves.

Funds for a thermal imaging camera replace one older unit. The camera measures heat and converts differences onto a screen. “This allows firefighters working in heavy smoke conditions to ‘see’ fire and victims in zero visibility when searching a burning house or building for trapped occupants,” the chief said.

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The grant comes from $12 million allocated to fire departments primarily comprised of part-time, on-call, and volunteer firefighters. There is no match required for the grant. 

-Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com. 

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Bronson Fire gets grant for lighter gear for firefighter safety