Wayne Township Fire & Rescue officials recently shared their department’s success with upgrading its Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA). They have upgraded 12 SCBAs to the MSA G1 models with integrated thermal imaging and Bluetooth technology.

Throughout the past year, they have upgraded this valuable personal protective equipment without using budget funds. The purchases were made possible using the CARES Act, ARPA funds, Ohio Fire Marshal equipment grant, donations, and funds raised from their annual fish fry. Approximately $100,000 in equipment was purchased without using local tax dollars in their budget.

This achievement was possible through the members’ hard work in researching, applying, and working to raise funds and improve the safety of their members and the community, according to officials.

Total items purchased include:

– 12 MSA G1 SCBA

– 35 MSA 4500psi air bottles

– 15 MSA G1 masks

– 12 backup batteries

– Four hard cases

– One Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag writer

– 16 Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags

– 15 SCBA mask bags

– 35-bottle quick connects

Wayne Township Fire & Rescue was recently approved to use the township ARPA funds to purchase the last six SCBAs to complete the overall upgrade. In addition, they have additional equipment ordered to continue this project.

An SCBA washer will be installed to clean the harmful contaminants thoroughly from the PPE itself. They also are excited about a new cascade system ordered with the ARPA funds. This system is an air compressor and bottle fill station to replenish the air in the SCBA bottles. They must travel to a neighboring station to refill the air bottles. This new equipment will allow them to mitigate cross-contamination from departments and efficiently get the equipment back into service, according to officials.