MORRIS, Ala. — A volunteer fire department received $18,000 to replace outdated equipment.
The money was donated by residents and used to buy turnout gear, fire hose and handheld radios — all of which were badly worn.
“Before we had a lot of hand me down equipment and a lot of outdated equipment,” Assistant Fire Chief Bryan Schaffer told WVTM13. “Working with other departments, we couldn’t communicate with them as well.”
The department’s hose situation was especially troubling as they recently had 400 feet fail inspection.
“If I had a call now, I’d pull it off and go into a fire with it and that’s not when you want to find out you’ve got a bad hose,” Chief Schaffer said.
Chief Schaffer said he hopes the investments will allow the department to score a better ISO rating.