Elliot Lake City Council has agreed to purchase 20 new self contained breathing apparatus units (SCBA) for the Elliot Lake Fire Department for $221,642.
Approval was given at council's July 13 meeting.
Fire Chief John Thomas told council the used units the city purchased in 2004 are at the end of their useable life. He said the new ones should last 25 years. "Unfortunately we only got 20 years off the current breathing apparatus that we're using," he said.
Chief Thomas continued, "The fire chief at the time got a deal on the packs that we're using, brand new. But they were five years old and unfortunately the manufacturer decided that they would no longer provide support or parts. It's been difficult to keep them in service, especially with the actual main computer system which regulates the air."
Councillor Norman Mann agreed the purchase needed to be made, with an observation, "I guess my only comment is, I think in the future I would be much happier with staggered purchases of a couple of units every three to five years instead of having the whole inventory to be replaced at once. And I'm not comfortable with purchasing used equipment from another department."
"We need to make sure that this equipment is working when they're going in to fight fires to protect our residents. So if we can at all possibly stop that process from happening, I do appreciate you having to do that Chief."
"However, it's not something that I'm comfortable with. That we got a deal for something that was on the shelf for five years and we got it afterwards. But if we're purchasing again, I think we need to stagger it and just put that into the lifecycle of the capital plan moving forward," stated Mann.
The successful bidder for 20 units of Self Contained Breathing Apparatus units was M&L Supply, Fire & Safety. Their price is $221,642 plus applicable taxes
Chief Thomas noted the new tanks are carbon fibre. The old ones were aluminum. The new units are much lighter and more ergonomically friendly, and also come with a lifetime warranty.
He said the present units were manufactured 1995 and the fire department got written notice from MSA that the company would no longer supply parts and service. That was in January 2019.
The new SCBA units are expected to be delivered in a few weeks.