Lexington Fire Department receives millions of dollars in new equipment

LEXINGTON, Ky (WTVQ)-  The Lexington Fire Department has received millions of dollars worth of brand new equipment this week.

The funding was made possible through American Rescue Plan Act funds and Lexington Urban County Council members.

The total cost ran upwards of $3 million.

“We have seven ladder trucks, we have 23 engines, we have rescue one, we have 12 front-line ambulances. And all of those got four packs each,” said Major Derek Roberts with the Lexington Fire Department.

Roberts says that doesn’t even include equipment for the fire department’s training academy. He says the department was in need of new equipment after constant repairs to older equipment.

“It was just something that had outworn its’ life expectancy,” says Roberts.

The new equipment includes about 200 MSA self-contained breathing apparatus– or breathing tanks.

“This new equipment just brings us all up to date to current codes as far as NFPA standards that apply to breathing air.”

Roberts says the equipment will allow firefighters to go into hazardous situations with more confidence in their ability to breathe while doing their jobs.

“It allows us, it has a cylinder of air and usually its 30 minutes of air. That 30 minutes obviously depends on the user because if you’re working harder, it’ll be less. If you’re not having to work as hard, you can make that last a little bit longer. But that’s what allows us to go in to a fire or into a hazardous environment.”

The transition into the new equipment was all part of a year-long- competitive bid process. More than two hundred Lexington firefighters took part in an assessment to determine which gear fit their needs best.

“That air stays cool, that air is on our backs. That air is fed in, we’re not breathing contaminants that are in the air around us.”

The fire department is also in the process of getting more equipment, including new radios, later this year.