VIDEO: 37 pairs of pants, 18 jackets, and five pairs of boots are headed from the Lake Charter Township fire department in Berrien County to a fire department in Africa.
Firefighters aren't allowed to keep gear for more than 10 years, according to Lake Township Fire, a rule that isn't enforced in other countries.
So rather than throwing it all away, the department had the gear professionally cleaned before shipping it off to Malawi.
A Bethel student and former chaplain for Niles Fire Department set up the donation, saying firefighters in Malawi battle fires largely without protection.
"It's a blessing. So excited that they had to fill that, just thinking to help people in Africa, it's a blessing," said Mphatso Mwalwemi, a pastor in Malawi.