| Oxford firefighters Dennis Kyser, left, and T.J. Stauffer, right, display new coats and pants the fire department bought through a FEMA grant of $50,000. Also in the photo is Dustin Steck, sales representative from Oneida who sold the equipment to the department. |
 click image to view larger
| January 11, 2008
BY SHERRIE TAYLOR - The Register-Mail
Thirty firefighters at the Oxford (Alpha and Ophiem) Fire Department will be attired in new “turnout gear” including pants and coat.
“This is top-of-the-line equipment,” Dustin Steck sales representative for the company that sells the equipment said.
The firefighter gear meets the standard for the National Fire Protection Agency.
The coats and pants are thermal, waterproof and fire resistant, with reflective markings and each firefighter’s name on his coat.
The department at Alpha received a $50,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to meet the cost of the purchase.
“This is a big grant for a fire department of this size,” Steck said.
|
The fire department received notice its grant application had been accepted about two months ago and the equipment was delivered last week.
The grant approval was based on need; the department’s previous coats and pants were seven years old.
Each new set cost $1,450 and most of the previous gear will be donated to the fire department at Little York, Oxford firefighter John Shannon said.
The new equipment was used for the first time this week to assist the Clover Fire Department with a house fire east of Woodhull.
Employed with the Environmental Safety Group, Steck, as central Illinois sales representative, sold the safety products to the department.
Steck, who works for the company part-time, is also employed full time by the Knox County Highway Department. He lives in Oneida and the Oneida-Wataga Fire department received a FEMA grant as well. Steck is a firefighter with the Oneida-Wataga department. |
