Firefighters in Rockingham County, Virginia are getting some new equipment, thanks to an Assistance for Firefighters Grant through FEMA. Currently, fire stations across Rockingham County use several different types of breathing tanks. The features and styles of the air-packs depend on which station is responding to a call, and often are not interchangeable, which can slow them down when they get to the scene.
However, all that is changing with a more than $740,000 grant from FEMA that will provide more than 100 new Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus, or SCBA. The new SCBAs are expected to arrive over the next three to six months.
"The function of the air-pack is more user-friendly. The quick interchange between bottles, it saves seconds, which doesn't sound like a lot but with what we do, it's valuable time," explained Capt. Jody Quesenberry.