Wellington North firefighters apply for $33,000 cancer protection grant
KENILWORTH – Local firefighters will soon be equipped with new particulate-blocking hoods, and their back-up bunker gear will be restocked.
The cancer-preventing gear will be funded by a $33,000 grant from Ontario’s Office of the Fire Marshal, through a program meant to bolster cancer-prevention initiatives.
The program provides a set amount to each of the province’s fire departments, proportionate to how many fire stations they have.
Fire Chief Chris Harrow told Wellington North council the grant would pay for a new particulate-blocking hood for each firefighter in Wellington North. The hoods cost $200 each.
The remaining funds will pay for extra sets of bunker gear, Harrow said: “We don’t have enough money to buy everybody two sets of gear but we have enough spare so that when theirs is being cleaned and certified, they can grab a spare set, and it doesn’t take them out of service.”
He added, “We really are working hard on our cancer prevention ... and council has been a big supporter of it through this entire process, so thank you for that.”
Councillor Lisa Hern thanked Harrow for securing outside funds to “help protect and keep our volunteer firefighters in service.”
Mayor Andy Lennox added, “Please extend our gratitude for finding sources of funding that are not our local taxpayer dollars – at least not directly.
“You guys have been doing an amazing job of taking advantage of grant opportunities and this is another example of that, so thank you for all the work and please pass our gratitude along to the whole team.”
