Geneva on the Lake Fire Department get issued with new bulletproof vests
The Ohio, USA village of Geneva on the Lake’s fire department have recently received 17 bulletproof vests as an extra safety measure for firefighters on the job.
Andy Kaschalk, the Fire Captain there, has said that the vests should not alarm the public, and that they are there just to ensure that firefighter safety is ensured in all possibilities.
“We applied for them as an extra safety measure for our department, not to alarm the public,” Kaschalk said. “These are basically a response to the many active shooter situations that have sprung up over the last few years.
“If ever there was an active shooter situation, it would be the police’s job to neutralise the shooter and our job to get wounded people out of harm’s way and treated.
“We didn’t buy them to alarm the public, just to ensure safety if we ever faced a situation like that. We work in situations where safety is important. We want to be able to go home every night.”
Kaschalk added that all 17 members of the fire department had been made aware of how to use their vests, and all members had been fitted for their own individual vests.
The vests themselves cost $10,000, with the bill being footed from the Department of Commerce grant. As part of the grant, Geneva on the Lake’s fire department also picked up six sets of level 5 ballistics steel plates to be equipped onto ambulances, which will significantly protect the vehicle against rifle fire, and has also been made available for the police department.
