An influx of new volunteer firefighters seems like a good thing.
But until the Shelton Fire Department can get an extra $92,000 from the city, many of the department’s 25 new recruits are sharing essential gear.
“There is such a short supply of gear, we have four members doubling up with gear, which is not good with health standards today,” said Capt. Justin Sabatino of the Pine Rock Park Co. “They’re even sharing boots.”
Sabatino spoke to the Board of Fire Commissioners Tuesday night.
Chief Francis T. Jones said the shortage of gear is not affecting the department’s current response because the recruits are not finished with training yet. The 25 volunteers signed up within the past two months.
“All our current members have full gear,” Jones said after the meeting. “But we want to be able to use all our members to their full potential (when they finish training).”
The initial training lasts for three months, Jones said, and then new volunteers can start responding to emergency calls while they continue with training beyond that.
Jones said each full set of gear costs $4,000.
The request for $92,000 includes updating existing volunteers’ gear. The department has also applied for a grant to get up to 200 new sets, but won’t know whether they receive that grant until the end of the month, Jones said.
Fire Commissioner Bruce Kosowsky said he’s not optimistic the department will get the grant or the more money from the city.
“I’ll be very surprised if we get it,” Kosowsky said after the meeting, noting that the department has a lot of old equipment and has trouble getting funding to keep it up to date.
But John Anglace, the president of the Board of Alderman, said the equipment purchase was an obvious go.
“We’ve been buying them gear right along. In fact, we just purchased some gear. You never have enough gear,” Anglace said. “We bond for that. I don’t get excited about it. It will get paid for. You can’t fight fires without gear.”
Anglace said the increase in the number of volunteers is good for Shelton.
“It’s encouraging to know that people are willing to step up and be part of the volunteer firefighters,” Anglace.
But the need for department updates goes beyond new boots and gloves.
Jones presented the Board of Fire Commissioners a list of priorities for the new fiscal year. The department received a budget of about $748,000, down from $833,000 from last year.
Jones said there is a “desperate need” for 240 gallons of Class B foam, which is used to fight oil and gas fires. The department also needs reflective vests for volunteers and needs to repair hazardous material meters, which need calibration or sensor replacement and have “questionable” reliability, Jones wrote in his chief’s report.
“Some of the items were placed on the back burner for whatever reason,” Jones said.
And the department is looking to update its vehicles, a handful of which are 25 years old. Jones said a new “apparatus replacement committee” is discussing the need for more trucks and will make a recommendation in the next couple of months.
Still, Jones said the department is able to respond to Shelton’s needs.
