Firefighters donate 100s of helmets, bunker gear to Firefighters Without Borders

Hamilton's fire department is sending more than 300 helmets, medical bags and sets of bunker gear to Nicaragua and Honduras, where volunteer firefighters grapple with a lack of usable equipment.

And Firefighters Without Borders (FWB) is calling it one of the largest donations it's ever had.

The department is donating 318 helmets, 58 sets of bunker gear and 12 medical bags to Firefighters Without Borders (FWB), who will send it to the south American countries.

President Russ Chalmers said if it's not the largest donation ever, the "it's up there."

"We're happy to get it," he said. "It's a really socially responsible thing they're doing."

The gear the city is donating is functional, but no longer usable under Ontario standards. Much of it can only be used for 10 years, said Chalmers. But it's still useful in places such as Nicaragua, Honduras and St. Lucia, where there are often fewer firefighting resources, particularly in rural areas.

In many outlying areas there, Chalmers said, volunteers who receive littletraining andno honorarium fight fires with whatever equipment they can scrape together.

The fire department's equipment disposal policy is to donate where possible, said Shawn DeJager, senior project manager of the Hamilton Fire Department. Otherwise, the equipment goes to landfill.

FWB has approached Hamilton in the past, he said. The fire department was glad to finally be able to follow through.

"We're trying to help out where we can help out," he said. "It will hopefully be put to good use."

Chalmers said the equipment will be shipped to Nicaragua and Honduras, and possibly St. Lucia. There, firefighters may modify it to suit their needs.

For example, equipment in Canada is made to withstand temperatures of 1,200 F, he said. Firefighters trudge deep into insulated houses to fight fires.

In rural areas of Nicaragua, by comparison, firefighters are often battling exterior fires where theyfocus on protecting neighbouring houses,or grass fires, he said. The firefighters theremay remove some of the unnecessary padding from the bunker gear to account for different conditions.

City council will give final approval to the donation on Friday. The equipment will likely be shipped in winter or early spring.