The Orlando Fire Department is training with new life-saving gear to help them battle fires.

  • OFD using new gear to help them fight fires
  • New bottles are bigger, can bring 33 percent more air
  • Dept. will start using packs after training finishes

The department showed Spectrum News 13 how the gear will enhance their ability to serve the Orlando community. The upgraded equipment is literally their lifeline in an emergency.

“Everything that was in the old pack is in the new, but you can see everything has been slimmed down for ease of operation,” explained Lt. Creed McClelland with Tower One. “It helps us get in and out of tight spaces without having things to get hung up on.”

The new bottles are bigger, meaning they can bring about 33 percent more air along when responding to emergencies.

“The longer we can stay in that smoky environment, the better chances we have of locating, confining and extinguishing the fire, and also searching for missing and trapped persons,” Lt. McClelland said.

If it’s the firefighter that gets trapped by the fire, the new equipment can help. In addition to an audible warning, it also sends a signal to that can be tracked by a commander in a vehicle at the scene.

“It could definitely be live saving for us, because now we can locate that individual firefighter a lot quicker. We know who it is. Hopefully from that we can tell where they are and we can send our resources to save them quicker,” Lt. McClelland said.

The whole department will start using the new packs after training is finished.  The goal is to have the new equipment in circulation next month.