Fire Department equips to deal with all threats

Before March, Bloomington Fire Department personnel responding to a potential terrorist threat using toxic or radioactive materials would have had to negotiate with one another for equipment.\nTo help remedy this problem, Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan announced Thursday that the Bloomington Fire Department received a FIRE Act grant of $65,000 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The funds will be used primarily to protect firefighters from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear environments -- a major step in promoting the safety of Bloomington firefighters.\n"The grant gives the fire department more resources to effectively do its job, which means our community is safer," Kruzan said in a statement. "We work hard to continually improve our public safety, and these monies will go far in doing just that."\nAlthough fire fighters used to concern themselves with medical emergencies, traffic accidents and preventing fires, post-Sept. 11 terrorist threats have created a new adversary for departments across the nation.\n"With terrorism there is a newer standard for protection of firefighters," said Deputy Chief Roger Kerr of the Bloomington Fire Department. "We are simply following a recommendation from the National Fire Protection Association calling for (firefighter) protection from chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological harm."\nThe BFD plans to raise an additional $28,000, on top of the original grant of $65,000, to fully fund the changeover to new CRBN equipment, which is expected to cost $93,000. This new equipment will protect each and every firefighter in the department against CBRN environments, in addition to fulfilling the function of the old equipment -- primarily designed for smoke protection.\nTo raise the $28,000 needed to pay for the complete changeover of equipment, the BFD is looking into private grant money.\nThe BFD has not yet formulated a fund-raising agenda to accommodate the department's needs for adequate protection in 21st Century terrorist-attack environments.\nKerr said fellow Fire Chief Jeff Barlow has formed a grant research committee.\n"The stage we are in right now is exploratory," Kerr said. "It's still very new. We're trying to get it all together."\nEarlier this year Monroe County was awarded a similar grant, which allowed the city to give the BFD 36 of the new CBRN breathing equipment.\nThe additional equipment -- one per fire fighter who didn't have one -- should benefit all Bloomington students, residents and guests. \n"It definitely promotes public safety because it allows them to do their job better," said Maria Heslin, Bloomington communications director. \nIn a recent meeting of all area fire department personnel, finding a means to continue and improve public safety was the main objective discussed.\n"The eight fire departments in the county met and discussed how to use the grant, and we agreed that one thing we definitely needed was new breathing packs," said John Hooker III, director of Monroe County Emergency Management. "Our old packs lasted 30 minutes, these new ones will last 45 minutes, as well as protecting against (CBRN) environments." \nHooker did not know if neighboring counties had received grants for similar fire protection.\n"I haven't heard about any other counties or the amounts they received," Hooker said. "Here at Emergency Management we just look at what is best for Monroe County." \nHooker said in the coming months Monroe County will receive its second federal grant of the year, which will be used to improve communication within the county's eight fire departments, a needed safety step, he said.\n"Our first grant is going specifically for breathing apparatus, the second grant is going toward a backup dispatch center," Hooker said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Michael Beal at mdbeal@indiana.edu.