Mass. College Town’s Fire Chief Requests Ballistic Equipment
The fire chief wants ballistic vests and helmets to be kept in the town’s ambulances.
The Amherst Fire Department in Massachusetts has requested ballistic equipment for its firefighters to improve worker safety.
Amherst Fire Chief Tim Nelson requested $17,500 from the town’s Joint Capital Planning Committee for 10 vests and helmets to keep in the town’s five ambulances, according to masslive.com.
Nelson’s department frequently deals with incidents at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which enrolls over 28,000 students. On Feb. 18 fire and police officials responded to a report of an armed assault in a dormitory. A non-student has since been arrested in that case.
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Nelson cited the increase in mass shootings last year as a reason for the request. In certain circumstances, Nelson said firefighters could be asked to work at the scene of an active shooter in order to help victims as quickly as possible.
“People don’t think it’s going to happen here,” Nelson said. “We need some level of protection.”
The vests Nelson is requesting are not the same kind that police wear.
The planning committee will make a decision on Nelson’s request sometime in March.
In 2013, federal officials suggested that all firefighters have access to bullet proof vests to assist in critical incidents that involve shooters.
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