Hartsville Fire Company was awarded a $110,000 federal grant to purchase new Self Contained Breathing Apparatus(SCBA). The new air packs replaced our current packs bought 15 years ago. The total cost of the new air packs was $157,200.00. The new packs have the latest standards that our current packs did not.

Such as:
Universal RIT Connection- This allows firefighters to fill the cylinder of a down firefighter while removing him from the hazardous atmosphere. Many fire companies in this area use different manufactured air packs. Prior to this standard, only a similar manufactured pack could make this connection.

Pak Tracker - The Pak Tracker device helps locate a down firefighter.

Face Mask that can withstand higher temperatures- This has been one of the weakest links of our protective gear.

The new SCBA was delivered in March. Members began training immediately and all of the training during the month of April was dedicated to getting all members competent and comfortable with the new packs. Members traveled to the Bucks County Public Safety Training Center in Doylestown on April 12th to practice in the smoke building and SCBA Confidence Trailer.

Training was wrapped up on Sunday, May 1st with a trip to the Lower Bucks County Public Safety Training Center for a Structural Burn Class. Crews trained in the pouring rain with live fire on different scenarios such as bedroom and basement fires. Upon returning to our station the old packs were placed out of service and the new packs were placed on all of the apparatus.

Chief Gottschall would like to thank all of the members who spent countless hours to train on the new packs in a short amount of time.