The South Jacksonville Fire Department now has a little breathing room, so to speak, when it comes to fighting fires in the area.
Fire Chief Rich Evans, Jr. showed the South Jacksonville Board of Trustees recently acquired new breathing apparatus for the fire department. Evans says that they were able to update everything through a large grant: “We applied for an Assistance of Firefighters Grant. We were awarded it in 2024. With the grant, we were able to upgrade and update our current self-contained breathing apparatus. We went from 30-minute [oxygen] bottle to a 45-minute bottle. Our packs had some age on them and were getting towards the end of their useful life. Thanks to this grant, we were able to purchase them all at the same time and update our entire inventory of air packs.”
The air packs would have cost approximately $10,000 each, without the grants. The packs also come with the “buddy breather” technology to allow for firefighters to share an air pack if one gets damaged or is low on air.
Evans says the new packs have another option that makes them more efficient: “These new packs have a quick disconnect. There are two little slide-outs that release the bottle from the pack instead of trying to thread them in [and screw them on to the apparatus] with gloves in icy conditions sometimes. This is obviously a good upgrade for us as well.” The bottles are also made out of a lighter material making them easier for firefighters to carry.
In other fire department news for South Jacksonville, Evans says they are attempting to replace the doors on the firehouse. He says he was surprised that the department has been at the Sequoia Drive facility now for two decades.
The doors will be about $4,100 each for repairs. Evans says that two of the doors already had to be replaced: “I’m not sure how time got away from us. We’ve been in our firehouse for 20 years now. It’s just time for some TLC on certain things around the station. We’ve had a few issues with a couple of the garage doors. Some things need to be updated and repaired. Two of the doors are brand new doors. Back here a couple of years ago when the straight-line winds came through South Jacksonville, during that storm it blew two of the doors in on top of two firetrucks. Those doors have been replaced here recently, but the other 5 have not. Everything else right now is in good shape and serves us well. Hopefully nothing else arises, but you never know.”
The village board also approved two assistant fire chiefs pay raises for them to receive $500 more annually in salary. Evans says the next thing his attention will be on is a possible placing a South Jacksonville fire protection referendum on the ballot in 2026. He says details on the language and boundaries are still being worked on, but residents should expect to see more information about it later this year.