Northern Bruce Peninsula Fire Department (Photo from Northern Bruce Peninsula website)
Northern Bruce Peninsula council is approving the $270,000 purchase of 20 breathing apparatus for the local fire department.
During a meeting on Nov. 15, a report was brought forward by Fire Chief Jack Burt. It recommended council authorize the fire chief enter into a purchase agreement for the used equipment from AJ Stone, a company which provides first responder equipment.
Burt says, “this is a very unique opportunity that came forward with these used packs to save a considerable amount of money. The price of these packs have risen exponentially here over the last few months due to shipping costs, computer chip costs and a number of other factors including inflation.”
The report says Northern Bruce Peninsula Fire and Emergency Services has 22 Scott 2.2 Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus’ (SCBA), four of which can no longer be repaired and have been removed from service.
Some of the department’s packs were purchased in 1997, with all but two purchased before 2011. The department bought two in 2015 and are refurbished SCBAs.
To meet the requirements of the current National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standard, SCBAs generally have a 10 to 15-year replacement schedule. With the SCBA update in 2019, it was found the current packs no longer meet safety standards.
The report says Scott no longer makes the parts the departments current SCBAs need.
The department currently has a 2022 capital budget to replace the SCBAs department wide, costing $270,000.
Burt says they are recommending purchasing used equipment, which currently have 10 years remaining on their warranty.
“There are other packs that are on the market, but this pack has some very unique features including rechargeable batteries, it is the only one that has a rechargeable battery pack. we do spend quite a bit of money on batteries, being double A batteries or nine volt batteries for pack replacements each year where there would be a cost savings over time just with these rechargeable battery packs alone. These SCBAs are a very good quality product and it is my recommendation this is what our firefighters need here in northern Bruce Peninsula,” says Burt.
The purchase of these SCBAs will minimize any budget implications, as the purchase falls within the allotted funds available for the purchase.
