ALL GEARED UP
New Victoria only Canadian volunteer fire department to win in gear giveaway program
New Victoria only Canadian volunteer fire department to win in gear giveaway.
A rural fire department has gotten a nice boost, announced as the only Canadian volunteer fire department to win in a national giveaway of state-of-theart turnout gear.
Andrew Petrie, deputy fire chief of the New Victoria Volunteer Fire Department, said they applied for the program organized by Globe but knowing it involved fire departments across the United States and Canada thought their chances would be slim. The call was a nice surprise.
“It was a shock and kind of exciting,” he said. “It’s probably about $8,000 worth of equipment.”
The New Victoria Fire Department was one of 13 fire departments that will receive four sets of turnout gear due to the 2018 giveaway program by Globe in partnership with DuPont Protection Solutions and the National Volunteer Fire Council.
Globe launched the program seven years ago to celebrate the company’s 125th anniversary to give back to first responders in need.
Kimberly Quiros, chief of communications with the National Volunteer Fire Council, confirmed out of the 13 departments there was one winner from Canada and 12 from the U.S. Quiros said they received more than 800 applications in total from the U.S. and Canada.
“All applications are reviewed by an expert panel, who then selects the departments they feel are most deserving of the gear.”
A total of 52 sets of stateof-the-art turnout gear were donated this year and 403 sets over the seven years of the program.
In a press release, Globe chief operating officer Tom Vetras said firefighters deserve nothing less than the very best personal protective equipment.
“Our Globe Gear Giveaway program – in partnership with DuPont – is just one of the ways we’re happy to support the many NVFC initiatives that help improve volunteer firefighters’ overall health, wellness, and safety.”
Petrie said they have 22 members at the New Victoria Fire Department and half were wearing gear that is 10 years old so the new equipment is needed.
“It’s a standard that after 10 years it’s recommended gear is replaced or at least inspected every year.”
Petrie said they never take chances and that gear is vital to their firefighters’ safety. A company inspected all their gear in the spring and everything passed.
“It’s just that it’s outdated and time to be replaced.”
Petrie said their department has been working hard to fundraise and replace older gear. Just the pants and a jacket alone would be $2,000.
“The boots and helmet and other gear adds up but the pants and jacket is the most expensive part,” he said.
“This is a big jump forward as now we’re down to only about half of what we needed.”
Petrie said representatives of the program were at the fire department to measure firefighters for the gear, which is custom made and fitted.
“Globe is one of the top providers in safety equipment, we’re very pleased.”
The New Victoria Fire Department responds to an average of 120 calls a year, serving about 5,000 residents over 100 square miles.
To be eligible to apply for new turnout gear through the 2018 Globe Gear Giveaway Program, departments had to be all-volunteer or mostly-volunteer, serve a population of 25,000 or less, be legally organized in the U.S. or Canada and be a member of the NVFC.
To help departments meet this last requirement, Globe sponsored NVFC Department Memberships for the first 500 applicants.