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Kennett City fire officials say six SCBA units are needed now as equipment ages and prices rise
Summary
Fire department representatives told Kennett City leaders they need six self-contained breathing apparatuses immediately to meet ISO minimums and to begin replacing roughly 20 aging units; staff said the purchase is in the capital request and that a full replacement would require 10 units.
Kennett City fire department representatives asked city leaders during a meeting for immediate purchase of six self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBAs), saying the department’s stock includes many units that are 15–20 years old and that spare equipment has been exhausted.
The request was presented as part of a capital-equipment discussion. A fire department representative said rising vendor prices mean costs for replacement packs have climbed from about $52,116 a year earlier to $60,396 in April, and that the estimated recent quote of about $60,003.96 covers six packs with 12 bottles and six masks.
“So just to meet ISO, we need a 6,” the fire department representative said, referring to minimum equipment levels cited in the Insurance Services Office report. The representative added that six packs would allow the department to meet ISO minimums but that 10 would be required “to get us back to where we need to be” and to restore reserves for training and out‑of‑town responses.
City discussion confirmed the department currently has 35 packs on the roster, and the department representative said about 20 of those are outdated. The representative said units purchased years ago are “falling like flies,” and that the department has been relying on spare packs kept in stock until those spares were exhausted.
A city official noted the request appears in the department’s capital request. “You’ve got this in your capital request,” the city official said during the exchange. No formal purchasing motion or vote was recorded in the transcript segment provided.
Officials described the six‑pack purchase as an initial step: meeting ISO minimums immediately while planning to acquire four additional packs later to reach a 10‑pack target that would restore reserves and avoid cannibalizing equipment from other apparatus during responses or training.
Cost figures discussed in the meeting were given as: $52,116 (approximately one year earlier in January, as reported in the meeting), $58,836 (a later January figure), and $60,396 (an April figure). The fire department representative said the most recent vendor quote — about $60,003.96 — would buy six packs with accompanying bottles and masks.
No formal action, motion, or vote was recorded in the provided transcript; the discussion was presented as part of the capital budgeting conversation and flagged for inclusion in the city’s capital request.
