Neighbor to neighbor: Cullman donates 33 air packs to county VFDs

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(Back row) Cullman Fire Rescue Firefighter Jamie Butler, Captain Adam Lackey and Lieutenant Matt Laminack pose with (front row) Cullman Fire Rescue Engineer Wade Miller, Cullman City Councilman Johnny Cook, Cullman Mayor Woody Jacobs, Cullman City Councilman Andy Page, Cullman Fire Rescue Chief Brian Bradberry, Cullman County Association of Volunteer Fire Departments President Joe Golden, Cullman Fire Rescue Division Chief Darren Peeples and Cullman Fire Rescue Firefighter Austin Yarbrough stand with the 33 air packs the City of Cullman surplussed and donated to the CCAVFD. (Maggie Darnell for The Cullman Tribune)

CULLMAN, Ala. – Friday morning saw the Cullman County Association of Volunteer Fire Departments (CCAVFD) receive a gift from the City of Cullman and Cullman Fire Rescue.  The City surplussed 33 air packs, donating them to the CCAVFD.

CCAVFD President Joe Golden of Baileyton shared how the air packs will benefit county volunteer fire departments.

“There’s several departments in the county that’s in dire need of some air packs,” he said. “They can’t afford to buy new ones, and with the run calls on these FEMA grants and everything and the run calls we have, it’s very difficult to justify getting on the grants. These will come in handy for some of the departments and help get some old equipment out and upgrade it somewhat and get them back in service. We appreciate the City and Cullman Fire Rescue for considering us and giving us these packs.”

A self-contained breathing apparatus (or air pack) is vital to firefighters, as it provides access to breathable air in an immediately dangerous to life or health atmosphere.

“We had these air packs that we kept up and maintained to stay certified the whole time,” Cullman Fire Rescue Chief Brian Bradberry said. “We thought it’d be a good thing for our neighbors to share some air packs with the county volunteer fire departments.”

The Cullman City Council at its Jan. 27 meeting voted to surplus the air packs to give to the CCAVFD.

Cullman Mayor Woody Jacobs shared, ““We are proud to be able to offer these 33 air packs to the Cullman County Association of Volunteer Fire Departments today. Local volunteer fire departments have assisted us and Cullman Fire Rescue many times, and we hope that these air packs will be of benefit to them.”

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