The Franklin Fire Department has received a more than $18,000 grant to pay for equipment they hope they never have to use.
The department received $18,361 from the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation to buy 13 sets of ballistic helmets and vests that could be used to protect firefighters during an active shooter situation.
Firehouse Subs is a chain sandwich restaurant. The restaurant started a nonprofit foundation in 2005 after the owners of the restaurant volunteered in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and saw the work first responders did.
The foundation accepts grant applications from first responders, schools and charities four times each year. Franklin has a Firehouse Subs and the foundation supports communities that have nearby restaurants, according to the foundation’s website.
Ballistic helmets and vests, equipment that protects first responders from bullets, have been on the department’s wish list for awhile, said Matt Culp, fire chief.
The equipment could be used during an active shooter situation anywhere in the county, or when the department goes on a run that may have involved shots fired, Culp said.
Firefighters hope they never have to use the equipment, but ballistic protection equipment is becoming more and more important for fire stations to have as the role of firefighters in emergency situations is always evolving, he said.
Other departments in the county have recently received similar equipment, Culp said.
If firefighters are equipped with the gear, they could go to a scene where people may have been shot and render aid more quickly, he said.
“Nationwide, there is a rash of shooting accidents,” he said. “So we can go into a situation and if the threat has been contained … we can go in and help the victims more quickly.”
In the 23 years since Culp has been with the Franklin Fire Department, a firefighter’s job has steadily changed, their duties increasing, he said.
Firefighters and departments are still trained and well equipped to fight fires, but what they’re expected to do now goes beyond extinguishing blazes. For example, most of the calls Franklin Fire responds to are medical emergencies. The department might also be called to address a gas leak. They could also be called to respond to an active shooter situation, Culp said.
“The fire department is a constantly changing environment. We take on more and more responsibilities,” he said.
The fire department does not budget for such equipment, so when a need arises, fire department officials look for other funding sources, such as grants to get the equipment they need, Culp said.
“There are a lot of needs and we are slowly trying to chip away at them,” he said.
The foundation placed the order for the new equipment last week, and local fire officials expect the equipment to arrive at the fire department in the next six to eight weeks, Culp said.
The city’s police department will help train firefighters to use the equipment once it comes, he said.
