Weyburn City Council last night voted unanimously for the Weyburn Fire Services' request for early 2023 budget approval for turnout gear.

City Councillor Laura Morrissette said the Fire Chief Trent Lee is doing the diligence to ensure the long-term plan is effective.

"Talking about our fighters, like, they save people's lives for a living, and they want to make sure that they stay safe while they're doing their job and doing it well," she commented. 

"Firefighter gear is the protective gear that ensemble that firefighters wear while they're on scene at different types of incidents," explained Chief Lee. "It is a specialized piece of equipment that combined of three different layers of materials that keep firefighters safe in high temperature. It also protects them from chemicals and other hazards." 

Lee said the gear is custom made to every firefighter.

"So we take measurements and the gear is built to match them, as to be properly protected during fires and in heat, the gear has to be properly sized to each individual," he shared.

Each set of gear has a price tag of about $2,700, and every firefighter should have two sets of gear. 

"That way we can reduce contamination and reduce the harmful effects of the pollutants that contaminate our gear while on scene," he explained. "As soon as we get back to the fire, all the gear is laundered and hung to dry and with firefighters having two sets of gear, they have a additional set that they can use to respond, as the gear cannot be dried with temperature, has to air dry, which takes sometimes quite a bit of time." 

"Currently every firefighter has one set and we have a few older sets kicking around that can keep them protect it while working on a scene, but they're no good for making entry into a burning building." 

Lee said five sets of gear were ordered in April of 2021, and they just recieved them this week.

"We ordered 10 sets in January of this year and expected delivery date is not until sometime in the new year of 2023," he noted. "So with them taking a year for production and delivery, we asked Council for pre approval to order another 10 sets this year, on next year's budget so we didn't have to wait till 2024 to receive that gear. That way we're in a a much better position to have all of our firefighters in a gear that meets standards and is not expired." 

He said it's not like the suits can be repaired easily, so it's important to have two each. 

"It's a constant battle maintaining gear because on certain fires certain hazards the gear gets damaged, it's no longer good or it has to be sent away for repairs as you have to be trained in how to repair the gear because it is a complex combination of different materials that provide different types of protection for the firefighter," he explained. "The gear only lasts 10 years, just the maximum and any heavily used gear, we find that it's usually no longer fit for service after five to six years."

Read more from the March 28th meeting of Weyburn City Council HERE.