Two dozen first responder agencies received personal protection equipment last week, funded with a grant the Arnold Rotary Club received.
The club handed out boxes of gloves, masks and protective gowns to police departments, fire protection districts and ambulance districts at Arnold City Park. The supplies will help first responders stem the spread of COVID-19.
The supplies were purchased with a $6,000 grant from the Rotary International, said Margie Sammons, an Arnold Rotary Club member and the organization’s District 6060 governor for 2021-2022.
“When the opportunity came up to apply for the grant, we thought it would be a perfect way to help the (emergency) services,” Sammons said.
She said Arnold Mayor Ron Counts was instrumental in coordinating the effort.
The supplies are going to the Arnold Police Department; the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office; the Antonia, Cedar Hill, De Soto Rural, Dunklin, Eureka, Goldman, Hematite, High Ridge, Hillsboro, Jefferson R-7, Mapaville, Pacific, Rock Community and Saline Valley fire protection districts; the De Soto, Festus and Herculaneum fire departments; and the Big River, Joachim-Plattin, North Jefferson County, Rock Township and Valle ambulance districts.
“Extra PPE during all of this is a great addition for us,” Hillsboro Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Jason Darian said. “We are running COVID calls every day. You still can’t find gloves, but masks and gowns have become a little easier to get. Anything will help any of the districts right now, and it was good that they thought of us.”
Each department received about 40 gowns, 200 masks and 300 gloves, Sammons said.
“It is invaluable because it saves us from having to go out and find it and purchase it,” Rock Fire Battalion Chief Al Zimmermann said. “We have received tremendous amounts of PPE from the state and Jefferson County Office of Emergency Management, and then donations like this have saved our taxpayers a lot of money.”
Zimmermann said Rock Fire uses about 10 gowns and 30 gloves a day. He said many of the masks can be used more than once.
“We are averaging 10 to 15 calls a day,” Zimmermann said. “We wear gloves and masks on every call, and gowns, we wear on most calls. The calls for COVID cases have risen since October. As the numbers went up in the state, our call volume replicated that.”
Sammons said the Arnold Rotary Club received the grant in March, but it took until Dec. 18 for the group to gather all the supplies to cover the 24 agencies.
“We tried to wait for the supplies and so all 24 agencies could attend,” Sammons said. “It is a nice Christmas gift.”