Glasgow Fire Department purchase new gear with $170,000 grant 

GLASGOW, Ky.-Fire fighters in Glasgow are training with brand new gear after receiving a $170,286 grant.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency offers grants each year to help fire departments across the nation afford needed equipment and training.

Since receiving the Assistance to Firefighters grant, the Glasgow Fire Department has purchased 27 air packs. Glasgow’s Fire Chief says it’s one of the most important pieces of equipment that fire fighters use.

“Any kind of fire or during training or whatever, it is the primary piece of protective equipment for a fire fighter. Respiratory issues short term or long term are one of the number one issues that a fire fighter has to face,” said Brian Marr, Fire Chief at Glasgow Fire Department.

The air packs are devices that allow fighters to breathe while working in heavy smoke.

“It is basically like a Scuba tank. It’s a tank of compressed air that they wear on their back, and then a full-face piece that supplies every time you take a breath. It contains 45-minutes of air in a compressed tank on your back so you can work,” said Marr.

The fire fighters are familiarizing themselves with the air packs in a training on Wednesday. The packs weigh a little bit more than the older ones.

 “The standards have changed so it’s going to be a little bit more weight on us, because they’ve changed certain items and we’ve went to a little bit bigger bottle,” said William Rock, Lieutenant at Glasgow Fire Department.

The weight off all the fire fighter gear, including the new air packs, is around 75 lbs.

“You’ll find out that the weight doesn’t really bother you while you’re fighting the fire, it’s afterward when the excitement is over that you notice. We try to keep our guys in pretty good shape for them, for us and the community as well,” said Rock.

The packs that Glasgow Fire used before were around 15 years old, and not up to current standard. In total the air packs cost the fire department $180,900.