By Lela Garlington
The Commercial Appeal
GERMANTOWN, Tenn. — By early next year, Germantown firefighters should be breathing easier when they enter smoke-filled buildings.
Monday night, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted to buy 75 new sets of air tanks and face masks with built-in microphones.
Also, for the first time in years, the Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved a contract for its locally produced programming on GHS-TV.
The board unanimously approved a purchase from Draeger Safety Inc. for just more than $415,000 for the new face masks and air tanks. Fire officials rejected the lowest bid of $343,000 from International Safety Instruments.
The staff report noted equipment limitations with the low bid such as the inability to use air filters with the face mask in case of chemical spills and the face masks not having an ear speaker but a speaker mounted on the chest which could limit the hearing ability in a fire.
Because the city has won approval a Federal Emergency Management Agency firefighters grant, the city’s cost will be just under $180,000. The grant is for $235,534.
The contract with the Germantown Community Television Foundation is for $238,000 with a 5 percent increase in the second and third years. The nonprofit foundation handles the funding for Germantown High School TV, or GHS-TV.
Before the board voted, Alderman Mike Palazzolo quizzed Alderman Ernest Chism about recusing himself from voting on the GHS-TV contract.
Chism is a former principal of Germantown High and also sits on the Shelby County Board of Education.
Although Chism said he didn’t have a conflict, when it came time to vote, Chism recused himself and the board approved the contract with 4-0 vote.
For more information about Draeger Safety Inc., visit the company website.
Copyright 2010 The Commercial Appeal, Inc.