By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The Niles Township Fire Department's new state of the art equipment is "major," according to fire chief Gary Brovold.
Thanks to a $145,169 Assistance to Firefighters grant, the township was able to replace all of its older, outdated equipment with new, more advanced gear.
"We've had the old equipment for years and we needed an upgrade," Brovold said Wednesday afternoon.
With the grant, the township was able to purchase 20 new packs, which included oxygen bottles, spare oxygen bottles, masks, turnout gear, boots and PBI hoods, which are made of fire resistent material. The new packs are also more comfortable than the old ones, which didn't have a lot of padding.
Brovold said he believes this state grant is one of the largest in the State of Michigan, and that getting the new equipment couldn't have been possible without the help of Assistance to Firefighters.
Firefighters spent Wednesday testing out the new equipment and getting used to all of the new features, which they did not have before.
"When we're at a scene, we don't have time to figure out how things worth. We have to know how things work and we have to do it fast," Brovold said.
One feature, which can save the life of a firefighter in trouble, is called the Emergency Breathing System (EBS). If a firefighter is low on oxygen, a beeping signal will sound, letting them know they are running out of air. If they are trapped and cannot get out in time, the EBS allows them to hook-up to another firefighters gear and the two will have oxygen until help arrives.
"This is major. Before, if we knew we were running low on air, we would unhook our gear and put it under our arms to try to avoid breathing smoke," Brovold explained.
Brovold hopes that, with the new oxygen tanks, a firefighter shouldn't have a problem running low on oxygen.
He explained that the old tanks held 2,216 pounds of compressed air. They were also made of a solid aluminum bottle. The new tanks hold 4,500 pounds of compressed air and are made with a fiber glass carbon wrap, which is also lighter than the aluminum.
"With the old bottles, you would get right around a half hour of oxygen. The problem though, was that if a firefighter was working hard and breathing heavily, you could expect only 15 to 20 minutes of oxygen before it would run low. With the new tanks, they last for an hour," Brovold said.
Another very important feature is the Pass Alert System, which identifies if there is a problem with a firefighter.
Each system is equipped with an identification number. If someone isn't moving or the system thinks something is wrong, a red light will start to flash and, shortly after, an ear-piercing alarm will sound. A hand held device called a Pac Tracker will then sound and on a small screen will show the identification number of the firefighter in trouble.
At this point, a firefighter can enter a building with the Pac Tracker and locate the person not moving.
A percentage number will also show on the screen, letting a firefighter know how close or far away they are from the firefighter in need of assistance.
The PBI hoods are equipped with voice amplifiers, which let firefighters hear each other more clearly.
"We have a lot of nice new features with this equipment. The firefighters can be more comfortable with all of the padding and the systems that help us identify problems is something that was needed," Brovold added.