Tellico Village Volunteer Fire Department recently received 22 new self-contained breathing apparatuses to replace well-used units.
Some of the department’s SCBAs were nearly 20 years old.
TVVFD was able to get the new units thanks to grants from the Loudon County Commission and Tennessee Fire Marshal’s office.
SCBAs are one of the more important pieces of equipment needed while fighting fires, allowing firefighters to enter hazardous areas while breathing clean air.
“It was a very timely and fitting grant, because with the addition of our new ladder truck we were not in compliance as far as having an air pack per seat,” Jerry Dougherty, fire chief, said. “We were short. We could not just go out and buy three because it’s a new model and they would not be interchangeable with our older models. We had to make the decision to replace everything in the department.”
Bill Ballinger, assistant fire chief, said the total bill for the upgrade was $165,000.
The new SCBAs aren’t simply replacements but improved and updated versions made by the same manufacturer.
“The fundamental difference is the new units are built more ergonomically, so they fit on the back better,” Ballinger said. “The shoulder harnesses are better. They’re more comfortable to wear because the older units would generally wear out before they ran out of air.
“These units are going to allow us to be more efficient and optimize the physicality of wearing these packs and operating them,” he added. “This is key because we’re operating in an extremely hazardous environment that’s generally hot. If a fire is burning, it can be as much as 1,000 degrees of heat in there.”
The new equipment will create a learning curve volunteers are excited to experience, he said.
“You need the firefighters to operate as efficiently as they can with the least amount of burden while they’re protected,” Ballinger said. “And that’s the beauty of this new equipment. It fits better, it’s more comfortable to wear, it’s easier to operate, which makes firefighters more efficient in their use of their physicality and their ability to operate for an extended period of time.”
Dougherty said Chase Randolph and Bill Geames, members of Loudon County Commission who represent District 1, couldn’t have provided the needed funding for the upgrades at a better time.
“When I got the phone call from them asking me if they could make a donation, I had my board of directors ready and willing to spend reserve money to buy the air packs,” Dougherty said. “When they said that they would donate $50,000 each, that was a dramatic, tremendous impetus there for us to just go ahead and get everything we need.”
Randolph said he understands the importance of equipping TVVFD with the best equipment possible because the volunteers serve multiple areas.
“I was happy to be able to do that for them,” Randolph said. “It’s a vital piece of equipment for them to be able to do their jobs daily. The Tellico Village fire department is in mutual aid, so they respond to numerous calls outside of the Village. They assist the rescue squad (and) the Loudon, Greenback and Philadelphia fire departments, so this is something good for the entire community.”
The department will hopefully begin the process of introducing a new fire and rescue boat by the end of the year.
“This has been a big acquisition for us, and we’ll train on these (SCBAs) over the next month,” Ballinger said. “We’re starting now to finalize the build of that boat, which puts one more tool out there for our firefighters and officers to use to rescue people, whether it’s on their dock, in their house or in their lakeside home.”
