Where is Templeton?????
WESTMINSTER — The Fire Department has purchased a new piece of equipment that will improve firefighter health and safety by preventing and reducing exposure to cancer-causing chemicals. Chief Kyle Butterfield and state Sen. Dean Tran, R-Fitchburg, worked closely together to secure $10,000 in state funds for the purchase of a Milnor Gear Guardian washer-extractor.
“It’s a specialized washing machine for our turnout gear,” said Butterfield. “It goes above and beyond laundering regular clothes, and will get the carcinogens, the toxins, soot and chemicals out of our turnout gear, which leads to safer gear the next time a firefighter puts it on.”
The new machine, which was purchased in February and has been up and running for the past few weeks, replaces the department’s old one, which Butterfield said was purchased in the 1980s. The old machine will be kept, however, to wash regular clothes and uniforms, he said.
