Firefighters in Macomb and Oakland Get Extra Turnout Gear with State Grants

Firefighters in Macomb and Oakland Get Extra Turnout Gear with State Grants

If you happen to live in Macomb or Oakland county, you may be glad to hear that several local fire departments are set to receive new turnout gear, helping them stay prepared to help you when you need them the most!

The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) decided to distribute $15 million in state grants to fire and safety departments across the state. In fact, 187 agencies will benefit from this program to arm their full-time career firefighters with an extra set of turnout gear. This includes new coats, pants, and boots for our hard-working heroes.

“The Turnout Gear program” is what it’s called, and its goal is to help fire departments buy an additional set of protective firefighter gear. This allows our full-time firefighters to always have the latest and greatest personal protective gear on hand.

Matthew Sahr, who happens to be the president of the Michigan Professional Firefighters Union, is excited by the news. He mentioned the support from LEO and the additional turnout gear would significantly enhance the safety and operational readiness of our firefighters.

But that’s not all! State officials made it clear that having an extra set of turnout gear also delivers health benefits for firefighters. They can switch into clean gear after a fire instead of waiting till the end of their shift to properly clean it. This can improve their response time, which is a considerable benefit indeed.

And guess what? 15 fire departments in Macomb County and 28 departments in Oakland County will receive part of these grants. Here’s a breakdown of some of them:

• Armada Township in Macomb: $38,500
• Chesterfield Township in Macomb: $62,900
• Eastpointe in Macomb: $73,500
• Addison Township in Oakland: $31,500
• Brandon Township in Oakland: $52,500
• Madison Heights in Oakland: $83,745

The grants range from as low as a few grand to several hundreds of thousands, depending on the size and needs of the department. This initiative is a significant step towards enhancing the safety and efficiency of our firefighting forces. There you have it, folks! Little things, like an extra coat, can make big differences – in this case, it helps our brave firefighters serve us better!