Grants will help 24 fire departments
TOPEKA – The Kansas State Fire Marshal awarded 101 complete sets of PPE bunker gear, totaling just over $400,000, to 24 volunteer fire departments through the Kansas Volunteer Firefighter Grant (KVFG).
Each bunker gear set includes a matching coat and pair of pants, a structural fire helmet, a hood, gloves and leather structural boots. The Kansas State Fire Marshal was able to make the grant possible through its budget, which was passed by the Kansas Legislature and signed by Gov. Laura Kelly.
This year, 675 sets of
See GRANTS, Page 10.
PPE bunker gear, valued at over $2.6 million, were requested by 96 volunteer fire departments in Kansas. Fire departments continue to face firefighter recruitment and retention issues because they lack funding to provide adequate safety equipment that meets National Fire Protection Association standards. This is particularly true in small, rural volunteer firefighter departments. Volunteer firefighters often have to provide their own safety gear, use gear that is outdated or go without gear altogether. The KVFG addresses gear inadequacies and prioritizes the departments in greatest need.
“Speaking with volunteer fire departments across the state this year, the common theme was the lack of quality gear. Oftentimes gear is used, handed down, expired, or mixed gear put together and shared by multiple volunteers,” Mark Engholm, state fire marshal said in a prepared statement. “Our goal this year was to focus on the volunteer fire departments that were in need the most of replacing old, outdated and missing gear.”
The Kansas State Fire Marshal, along with representatives from the Kansas State Fire Fighters Association and the Kansas State Association of Fire Chiefs, reviewed the grant applications and worked together to award the grants.
Galesburg Volunteer Fire Department received five sets of bunker gear through the grant.
“Without grants like these, small, rural fire departments in the state would not be able to provide the protection to their firefighters that NFPA and OSHA require,” Galesburg Chief John Lilburn said. “I hope that the state legislators continue this program, as there is definitely a need in the rural areas of the state.”
The other recipient from Southeast Kansas was the Allen County Rural Volunteer Fire Department.
