Skagit County Fire District 6 will no longer have to rely on neighboring departments to fill its breathing apparatus tanks after receiving a $69,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency grant.
The money will be used to purchase an air compressor and filling station for the district’s self-contained breathing apparatus packs.
Until now, the rural volunteer fire department west of Burlington has traveled to fire stations in Alger, Burlington and west of Mount Vernon to fill its air tanks — a process Fire Chief Paul Wagner said can take hours.
Having the machine in-house will increase response times by keeping firefighters in their district.
“We’re not driving somewhere else and having to rush back,” Wagner said. “That’s the big thing.”
Wagner said the district will order the equipment next week, and will likely have it up and running in two to four months.