KVUE
AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin Fire Department is currently discussing the possibility of purchasing bullet proof or bullet resistant vests for first responders.
The discussion was prompted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in a recent article regarding the nation’s most recent mass casualties such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings and the Boston Marathon bombings.
FEMA experts are suggesting that all firefighters across the United States be armed with bullet proof vests in hopes of saving more lives when responding to mass shootings and other critical incidents. “There’s always an inherent amount of risk going into those scenes, you know, and when you’re not protected with the best safety equipment out there, that risk kind of goes up,” said Randy Denzer with the Austin Firefighters Association.
Full story: FEMA: Firefighters should be armed with bulletproof vests