This week, for the first time in over ten years, new Personal Protective Equipment(PPE) was distributed to each Carver firefighter. Each ensemble included turnout coat and pants, fire boots, helmet, gloves, wildland fire coats and pants, and miscellaneous accessories. Our existing turnouts were over 10 years old and had exceeded their useful life.
The tradition at Carver Fire is to form a committee of firefighters to make design and purchase decisions for large capital projects such as this, as well as apparatus, fire hose, fire stations, etc. This practice ensures that the members have a voice in the process! This particular committee met numerous times over the course of several months to meet with vendors and make decisions that best serve the department within a modest budget. Committee members are not compensated, and volunteer their time. Kudos to the PPE committee for designing a superior, first class spec!
Over the last several weeks, more than 1600 items have arrived at fire headquarters for distribution. Led by the advanced organizational skills of Deputy Eric Germaine, committee members created this presentation of gear for seamless distribution to the members. Each firefighter had their respective ensemble of custom designed PPE prepared for them. A PPE committee member would personally assist them with the receipt of their new gear.
Please check back in the coming days for more photos of the members receiving their new gear.
The members of the Carver Fire Department are grateful for ongoing support from the people of Carver!
Huge thank you to our Town Administrator, Board of Selectmen, Finance and Capitol Outlay Committees for supporting our Firefighters needs and helping us acquire the needed PPE. It was especially nice to see members of the Finance and Board of Selectmen show up to watch the gear be handed out.
