Morongo Valley Fire Department to donate ‘bundles and bundles’ of outdated gear to countries in need
Last night, The Morongo Valley Community Service District Board of Directors held their regular meeting at Covington Park, where the Assistant Fire Chief reported their donation of outdated gear and the fire crew’s planned OSHA-required testing, and the Board discussed updates to district holidays and Conflict of Interest policy. Reporter Gabriel Hart takes a closer look.
Assistant Fire Chief Daniel Casner reported their massive donation of fire protective gear which will be refurbished and sent to countries in need.
Casner stated when the new command staff came into department this year, there were “bundles and bundles” of protective equipment that didn’t meet standards, and after speaking with a vendor in San Diego who offered to refurbish it all, forty-seven sets of turnouts and eight helmets will be donated to other countries like Mexico who follow different gear compliance.
Casner said the crew will be doing their annual OSHA-required Fit Testing for protective masks on September 5.
For new business, the Board approved matching the district’s observed holidays with the union standard Memorandum of Understanding, as well as approving the Conflict-of-Interest policy update to ensure designated positions and disclosure requirements remain current.
Because General Manager Brittany Chavez was not in attendance, the Board decided to table their discussion for her emergency spending limits, and because going through the whole District Handbook required more time for review, the proposed update to the handbook was tabled as well.
