By David Fleet
Editor
Atlas Twp.- Township firefighters will now stay a little safer thanks to the recent efforts of two local
The Good Times in Goodrich Committee recently donated $500 and the Hannah’s Legacy Foundation-Goodrich matched that donation for a total of $1,000 to purchase three new fire helmets for the township fire department.
“In the firefighting business, the number one concern for our crew and the residents of Atlas Township is safety,” said Ed Klimek, Atlas Township Fire Department assistant chief. “That starts with the gear we need to wear when fighting fires or responding to any other hazardous emergencies.”
Klimek said the National Fire Protection Association requires fire departments to replace all Personal Protection Equipment every ten years and the cost is continuously rising.
“It costs $10,000 just to send one fully equipped firefighter into a burning structure,” said Klimek. “Four thousand dollars of that is part of the PPE that needs to be replaced every 10 years. Multiply that by 25 firefighters and there’s just not enough money in the budget which is why we really need our (fire) millage to pass next week.”
We cannot thank groups like this enough, added Klimek.

“The Hannah’s Legacy Foundation and Good Times in Goodrich Committee will help us replace three expired fire helmets,” he said. “The new helmets will feature a Bourkes Shield which provides eye protection as well as impact protection and can be used over a Defender Visor that stores inside the helmet and can be deployed the instant it is needed.”
This double eye/face protection will give our firefighters an extra level of safety in dangerous conditions, he said.