Globe, in partnership with DuPont and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), has made the first two awards in the 2013 Globe Gear Giveaway program. East Glacier Park (MT) Volunteer Fire Department and Happy Jack (AZ) Fire Services will each receive four sets of new, state-of-the-art Globe gear.
Through the 2013 Globe Gear Giveaway program, Globe and DuPont are providing up to 52 sets of gear to volunteer fire departments in need. The program is administered through the NVFC and open to NVFC members in the U.S. and Canada who are all-volunteer departments serving a population of 25,000 or less. This is the second year for the giveaway program; in 2012, awards were made to 16 fire departments in the U.S. and Canada.
“We are pleased to partner with Globe and DuPont to help volunteer departments who are struggling to provide proper protection to their members,” said NVFC Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg. “This program increases the safety and well-being of volunteer firefighters and is a wonderful example of companies giving back to the community.”
The East Glacier Volunteer Fire Department in Montana is a small department located on the south end of Glacier National Park, a location that causes the town’s size to double in the summer. The department has a call area of over 50 miles and also responds to wildland fires in the region. It receives a small operating budget from the county but doesn’t have enough funding to provide its 17 firefighters with new, compliant gear. Most of the gear they do have is over 10 years old.
“These new turnouts would be a blessing to our department,” said East Glacier Fire Chief Ben Steele.
Happy Jack Fire Services is located in Northern Arizona and surrounded by the Coconino National Forest. Many of the town’s permanent population are retired and living on fixed incomes. The population increases significantly during the summer as visitors rent cabins in the area. All of the department’s equipment is greater than 15 years old, and the main engine is 42 years old.
The department is in great need of new turnout gear. The gear they do have has been donated by other departments and dates to at least 15 years old or more. “My primary goal as chief is to protect my firefighters at all times,” said Happy Jack Fire Chief John D. Stahl, explaining why he applied for the Globe gear.
Both of these volunteer departments will benefit greatly from having four new sets of Globe turnout gear to protect their firefighters. As small all-volunteer departments, budgets are tight and the downward economy makes the challenges of funding even tougher. This donation will increase the safety of the firefighters as well as boost morale within the departments.