El Dorado County Fire awarded more than $500,000 for new breathing apparatuses
PIONEER — A Northern California fire district is receiving more than a half million dollars to update essential equipment to help crews fight fires safely.
Tim Cordero, Fire Chief for the El Dorado County Fire Protection District said they were awarded $538,687 from the Assistance to Firefighters Program for new self-contained breathing apparatus, or SCBA.
"Which is the air packs our firefighters wear when they go to fight fires and hazardous material calls and things of that nature," Cordero said.
The newer versions can be more than $8,000 apiece, so Cordero said the grant was a huge relief.
"They're reaching the end of their life, they've had a lot of use and done a lot of good stuff for our crews but the new packs have the latest technology, the latest upgrades," Cordero said.
Dave Whitt is the fire chief of the Pioneer Fire Protection District and said his department has had newer versions for about three years.
"One of the quickest ways for a firefighter to die in the line of duty is to breathe in hot, superheated gases that are toxic to the body and what they call immediately dangerous to life and health," Whitt said.
The newer SBCAs offer a number of safety features including an alarm if a firefighter goes down.
"If you don't move in a period of seconds, that's your warning and it keeps on giving you a warning until you move your hips and that moves the device," Whitt demonstrated.
It also allows firefighters to help each other out with air supply.
"They can connect to me and I can breathe off of their tank in addition to them breathing off their tank," Whitt said.
Whitt said they are also lighter than previous versions that would use steel tanks, which is something Cordero and Whitt said allows their crews to keep doing what they do best.
"The update, the new face pieces, the new technology, all the new safety features, these things are thousands of dollars apiece. What does that do for us? It allows us to protect the public we are sworn to protect and serve," Whitt said.
Cordero said they should receive the new SCBAs in about nine months.
