Spartanburg Co. Fire Dept receives almost $300K worth of life saving equipment
GRENDALE, S.C. (WSPA) – The Glendale Fire Department received close to $300,000 from the state to purchase new, state-of-the-art Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus air packs for their firefighters.
The department received 25 SCBA's and 50 cylinders on Thursday. They said the packs are used at virtually every fire; they are used on any situation where there are smoke or harmful substances in the air.
Chief Johnathan Wells said the department has the packs needed for a couple of years as their older models are out of date and have reached their life expectancy of 15 years.
'Yeah, it's exciting,' Wells said. 'This is kind of like Christmas all over again. This is a big thing for us because this is the most money we've ever acquired from a grant, and we desperately need these SCBA's. By the state giving us these monies were able to accomplish it.'
He told us one of their own firefighters, Shelly Brock, found a way to connect with state senators and state representatives to make this all happen.
The new SCBA's come equipped with thermal cameras that help firefighters find victims. They also contain new alert systems which sends signals to other crew members after a responding firefighter has not moved.
'Once that happens, that gives the other firefighters an alarm that says hey, we've got a fireman that we need to be looking for,' he explained. 'These packs also have tracking devices, so we'll be able to see where they're at where they're moving.'
The new air packs also come with washer-friendly straps. Previously, they were not able to wash the packs to remove harmful, carcinogens.
The new cylinders give the firefighters an additional fifteen minutes of air, something they said is crucial as modern furnishings burn a lot faster and a lot harder than the traditional style.
Firefighters like Wilson Mathew expressed the importance of this equipment.
'Packs get worn on every call, fire alarm call and every fire,' said Wilson. 'Every car fire, business fire, house fire, without those we wouldn't be able to go inside we wouldn't be able to put the fire out. We wouldn't be able to save people's lives.'
He said although this amount of new equipment is a large undertaking, it will be worth it to serve the Glendale community.
'We're really excited,' said Wilson. 'We're always happy to get new equipment. This is very pivotal equipment. It's a very large purchase. We're all just really happy we're actually able to obtain such a large purchase and it's going to help the department a lot.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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