Fire division gets new federal grant

A recently obtained grant from the federal government will offer a better chance to protect firefighters from carbon-monoxide poisoning, according to the new head of the Mitchell Fire Division.

Paul Morris said a $17,813 grant from the Department of Homeland Security will allow for the purchase of five monitors that check levels of carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas that can be toxic to humans.

The devices will be used to check carbon-monoxide levels in firefighters before and after fires.

“This is just going to help us keep better track of how our firefighters are doing coming out of fires,” said Morris, who was promoted earlier this month.

Because symptoms of carbon-monoxide poisoning often resemble those of diabetic emergencies, strokes or drug-and-alcohol intoxication, Morris said the devices will also be used to narrow down possible causes of affliction in patients encountered during emergency calls.

“We’ll use the detector to either prove or rule out carbon-monoxide poisoning,” Morris said. “It’s just going to get us to the point of treating our patients better and faster.”

Of the five units scheduled for purchase, four will be placed in ambulances. The remaining unit will be kept in a fire engine.

U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson, DS.D., said in a news release Thursday that the money is “a great example of my Hometown Prosperity Plan to invest in the public good.”

“Fire departments like the Mitchell Fire Division play an essential role in ensuring the safety of rural counties in South Dakota,” Johnson said. “Firefighters must have quality equipment needed for a quick response to an emergency.”

Morris, whose division is within the Public Safety Department headed by Lyndon Overweg, said his staff is currently investigating the status of another grant request. That grant, if approved, would pay for an exhaust system for the public safety garage.

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