ST. PAUL - St. Paul firefighters will likely be getting new helmets once funds from the Town and County of St. Paul joint-use fire reserve account are approved.
Fees for service are collected from the province or insurance companies, and are placed in a reserve account to help assist the St. Paul Fire Department with the purchase of equipment or capital replacement of a rescue unit, explained Fire Chief Trevor Kotowich, at the Feb. 13 Town of St. Paul council meeting.
The reserve account currently has $189,592, but does not reflect the $37,007 collected in 2022.
"The St. Paul Fire Department strives to replace the protective equipment and clothing of the firefighters every 10 years in keeping up with industry standards and requirements," said Kotowich, during the council meeting. While the department has been able to keep up with replacing much of its protective bunker jackets and pants, the fire helmets have significantly lagged behind. Part of the reason is due to supply chain issues over the last few years.
"I am proposing we replace all 39 fire helmets currently in use to a more modern and a lighter weight option. By doing so, we will eliminate the litany of different supply of helmets currently in use, which is proving troublesome at getting replacement parts," said Kotowich.
On Feb. 3, St. Paul Firefighters Association approved a motion to contribute $10,000 from its fundraising to be put toward the purchase of new fire helmets. Kotowich has requested that the remaining funds needed - just under $21,000 - come from the joint-use reserve account.
Coun. Norm Noel made a motion "For Council to authorize the Fire Department to access the Joint-Use Fire Reserve Account in the amount of $10,807.28 for the purchase of 39 new firefighting helmets." The motion was approved by Town council. County of St. Paul council is expected to review the request at its Public Works meeting on Feb. 28.
During discussions, Kotowich explained that, "Originally my plan was to replace maybe five or eight of these helmets per year," but the fire chief became concerned that by the time all the helmets were replaced there would be a difference in models being used, and once again there would be challenges in finding replacement parts.
