Libby Volunteer Fire Department seeks $50,000 grant to replace protective gear

Libby Volunteer Fire Department is applying for a $50,000 rural development grant to replace 30 sets of protective gear to comply with fire protective standards.

“It’s been a long process,” said First Assistant Chief/Fire Marshall Steve Lauer. “We first started looking into this in November of 2016.”

Most of the department’s existing gear is 10 to 15 years old, Lauer said, with a few sets that are newer.

“But ten years is the threshold for fire protective standards, so we are no longer in compliance with most of our gear,” he said.

With a set of coat and pants for each firefighter running at about $2,500 to $3000, and the cost of helmets, gloves and boots on top of that, Lauer said the grant money is sorely needed. “With the risk of fighting fire in an area that contains asbestos, some of our guys actually need two sets of gear, because the turn-around (time) to clean the gear is sometimes two or three days and they may go on another fire in that time,” Lauer explained.

Lauer said the station has a “turnout extractor” and a dryer that can clean the gear, and Moody’s Dirty Laundromat helps by cleaning a few sets at once.

“With the amount of cancer in firefighters and their families we’re realizing the importance of cleaning this stuff really well because it can be carcinogenic,” Lauer said.

Lauer has been working closely with City Clerk Audray McCollum to apply for the grant to “take the burden off the local taxpayer.”

When asked how confident he was in receiving the grant, Lauer replied “I don’t know. It’s been a lot of paperwork and we really hope we get it.”

The grant is available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. McCollum said Thursday they still await word on whether the grant will be awarded. She said there is no known deadline for when they will hear.