Grant supplies extra uniforms for Libby firefighters

The Libby Volunteer Fire Department received a grant from the LOR Foundation in December that will provide them with safer equipment for firefighting in Libby and the surrounding area.

“We’re still not up to where we’d like to be with two sets for every firefighter,” Libby Fire Chief Steve Lauer said.

Still, for a volunteer fire department with a membership of 27, Lauer said the uniforms will make a big difference in their ability to safely respond to fires.

The department services 28 square miles between the City of Libby and Lincoln County Rural Fire District and the same members serve both of them, Lauer said.

Tabitha Viergutz, the Libby Community Officer for the LOR foundation, was instrumental in putting the grant together, Lauer said.

“As we speak she’s still providing our organization with additional available potential grant resources out there,” Lauer said.

The $27,500 grant is for nine sets of uniforms that are projected to last 10 years and while most uniforms will serve as a second set, some will be firefighters' first National Fire Protection Association approved clothing.

At least three firefighters had been using uniforms that did not meet national standards, Lauer said.

“Some people may question why we are getting two sets,” Lauer said. “The big issue for us and for many firefighters throughout the nation, is that if you go to a structure fire you get that stuff dirty, you’re contaminated and it can take a few days to get it clean.”

The fire department may get another fire call within a few days or hours, and while they have a facility to clean uniforms they also need to utilize the local laundromat for the sake of time, Lauer said.

“It's just a timeframe issue of having the proper turn out gear,” Lauer said. “Otherwise we're putting that gear back on.”

In Libby, asbestos is part of the problem and first responders are trying to avoid taking contaminants back home with them, Lauer said.

“There’s still many facilities and homes that still have asbestos in the walls that was sealed in place,” he said.

The Lincoln County Asbestos Resource Program said that asbestos is sealed in place at times to minimize exposure.

“It’s not just the asbestos. There's carcinogens in plastic, in many construction material products,” Lauer said. “It doesn't just have to be the Libby asbestos.”

“That’s OK if it never gets disturbed,” he said. “I can only assume that there’s an exposure potential in (sealing it up) down the road, and certainly there is with us in fire situations.”

Typically firefighters use electronic equipment to monitor fire and air conditions while fire fighting and they also wear respiratory protection. The uniforms each cost the department about $3,000 and because the department received the grant in December there was a 10% cost increase by the time they ordered the uniforms in 2023.

The firefighters had to come up with about $2,000 out of their budget, Lauer said. The department has an annual fundraiser coming up, and they start selling tickets on April 1, but otherwise their budget is tax based.

“I just can’t thank the LOR foundation enough, and Tabitha, it was just very easy and painless to work with her,” Lauer said.

Viergutz affirmed that some officers did not have replacement uniforms.

“If they were called out on a fire and they became contaminated, in Libby that means asbestos, if they are called out after the fire they don't have uniforms that are free of carcinogens,” Viergutz said.

This new equipment will provide added protection for the volunteers. The department had previously applied for a federal grant, but it was denied, Viergutz said.

“It left them with a real worry of how they were going to come up with these funds,” Viergutz said. “It was nice to be able to have that LOR support.”