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Feel Good Friday: Osseo Fire Department needs help with new self-contained breathing apparatus

OSSEO, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – The Osseo Rural Fire Department is looking to purchase 16 new self-contained breathing apparatuses. The current ones have been used for decades but are getting harder to maintain. Now, they are fundraising and could use your help. Nels Gunderson has served in the Osseo Rural Fire Department for years. Gunderson explains, 'I'm going on my 49th year in the fire service and I've been in Osseo since 1981.' During those years many things have changed, but others haven't. Gunderson says, 'We got some new ones when I was first on and now, we've wore those out and it's time to replace them again.' The Osseo Fire Department says it's looking to purchase 16 new ones, with a cost of (around) $250,000. Gunderson says, 'That's the air unit that the fireman puts on to go into a hazardous environment. All our first responders use it. Anybody that's going to be operating an area that's, you know, considered hazardous, that's what we need them for. What we have is five of them in each truck. So, every fireman that's en route to the fire can put, put them on and be ready to fight the fire as soon as they get on the scene. We just thought as a fireman, we'd take it on to try to keep this off the tax roll if we could or as much of it as we can. And try to get this job done.' So far, the department has raised around $93,000, but it still has a ways to go. Gunderson says, 'We used to fight fires a lot without them. Now you just can't do that. It's too dangerous. They're still safe, just getting hard to get parts for them and time for us to upgrade them.' As the department continues to jump into action in an emergency, it will keep fundraising to do it with the best equipment. The fire department is accepting financial donations for the new equipment. They also have a St. Patrick's Day fundraiser with food, drinks and even Dueling Pianos. Most of the ticket profits will go towards the new equipment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.