The Chardon Fire Department received over $175,000 worth of equipment, including 26 air packs, 26 spare air bottles, three pack trackers, 40 air masks and 24 voice amplifiers, said Fire Chief Larry Gaspar April 11.
The Chardon Fire Department received over $175,000 worth of equipment, including 26 air packs, 26 spare air bottles, three pack trackers, 40 air masks and 24 voice amplifiers, said Fire Chief Larry Gaspar April 11.
The equipment was purchased through a grant from Federal Emergency Management Agency for which Chardon and Burton fire departments filed a joint application in February 2018. Chardon’s $177,000 portion of the grant required a 10-percent local match — approximately $17,000.
“We’re very grateful to get this,” Gaspar told Chardon City Council during their regular meeting. “It’s very expensive, (but) we were able to save, for residents and businesses, $160,000.”
Gaspar said Chardon and Burton teamed up to apply for the FEMA grant, as the agency prefers to award money for regional projects. The entire grant amount was $334,000, divided into 53 percent for Chardon and 47 percent for Burton.
The new packs, which Chardon’s department received in early March, replace equipment last purchased in 2002. They are not only more comfortable for firefighters, but include added safety features, Gaspar said.
“The pack now is actually like a rope and rescue harness. It doubles for that in case you have to bail out of a window or anything like that, you have to come off of a building,” he said.
A new air mask gives firefighters 45 minutes of air, although a third of the air is left in the tank to allow the firefighter to safely exit a burning building, the chief said.
The mask also contains a heads-up display telling the wearer how much air remains and a voice amplifier allowing use of a radio, he said.
Gaspar asked Councilman Chris Grau to model the mask by holding it up to his face “so you don’t mess up your hair.”
“I appreciate that,” Grau said with a chuckle.
Another safety feature Gaspar demonstrated is an ear-splitting alert that is set off automatically if a firefighter stops moving or falls unconscious.
The packs are Bluetooth-enabled, which allows them to be found by a pack tracking device. Gaspar handed the tracker to Mayor Jeff Smock, who was able to locate Grau in council chambers.
“There’s a number that’ll come up and that’ll tell you how close you are to that pack that’s alerting,” Gaspar said over the sound of the pack’s alarm. “If you went out in the hallway or out on the street, that number would drop down to 50 or 40. So basically, the closer you get to 100, it’s telling you you’re getting hotter and hotter to where this person is.”
Gaspar said the next grant the department plans to pursue is to replace their radios, which are old enough that Motorola no longer makes or supports them.
The cost should be between $130,000 and $150,000, Gaspar said.
“I just got one more thing,” he added. “Stop and see us at the (Geauga County) Maple Festival.”
Council also heard from Jonathan Schneider with the Chardon Area Chamber of Commerce who, as car show chair, asked permission to close Main Street the morning and afternoon of July 14 for their 10th annual car show.
At last year’s car show, Schneider said people were circling the square with their heads out of their windows, looking for a spot to park their classic car, but being able to close Main Street will allow parking for more vehicles while also leaving space for emergency personnel to pass through.
Schneider said last year, several car owners did not have room to park on the square, which led to a mini car show in the El Patron parking lot.
Also, the square is nicer for mingling and talking without traffic passing through, he said.
Chardon Police Chief Scott Niehus assured council his department had already planned for detours similar to planned for the maple festival.
Schneider also said the Chamber has already spoken with church groups on the square and will leave sufficient parking spaces open for worship services.
Schneider also told council 107 cars out of 250 in last year’s car show were brought by owners that are registered and living in Chardon.
“We probably all know someone that has a cool car or something they’re going to bring to the show,” he said.
In other news, City Manager Randy Sharpe said the South Hambden storm sewer and resurfacing project will start as soon as school lets out and should be totally done at the end of summer or early fall.
Steve Yaney, community development administrator, said builders of Park Avenue Mews, a planned townhome development, are finishing utility permits and should begin building in late summer or early autumn.
Yaney also said a final draft of the city’s Comprehensive Plan update has been completed and is on the city’s website.
