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Middletown fire chief says faulty washer sent 126 garments for repair; city will buy new machines with CDBG funds
Summary
Fire Chief Albert told the Public Safety Commission that a malfunctioning extractor likely contaminated turnout gear, sending 126 garments for repair. The city plans to use Community Development Block Grant money to buy two new washer-dryer machines and pursue vendor reimbursement.
Fire Chief Albert said a programming or installation problem with an extractor—the heavy-duty washer used for turnout gear—left gear improperly cleaned and required immediate remediation.
"All in all, we had a 126 pieces of garments that had to go out for immediate repair," Albert said, describing Redline Gear's recent testing of department PPE. He said the machines may have been installed or programmed incorrectly when placed in service in 2017 and that the department has no record of staff training on the equipment.
Albert told the commission the city has taken the defective machines offline and is pursuing warranty and reimbursement options. He said the department believes the vendor has been slow to respond and that department leadership (including union and city hall) will reach out to press for remediation.
To prevent a recurrence, Albert said the department successfully applied for Community Development Block Grant funds to purchase two new washer-dryer machines. "The new machines, there's only 1 setting, and the only way to undo that setting is to have the secret code, which the factory does not give out," he said, describing the simpler factory settings as a safety feature to avoid inadvertent reprogramming.
Albert cautioned that renting replacement gear is not a timely alternative: rental turnout gear would take an estimated four to six weeks to arrive, a timeline he said was impractical for short-term staffing needs. The department has contingencies in place and expects most serviced gear to return by Friday, pending vendor turnaround.
Why it matters: contaminated PPE can expose firefighters to carcinogens and threatens both personnel safety and operational readiness. Albert said the department will implement an annual service plan for the new machines and notify peer departments to check similar extractors.
The commission received the update as part of the fire department's monthly report; no formal vote was required on the equipment purchase at the meeting.
