The Merrimac Fire is pleased to share that the department has received eight ballistic vests as part of the FY25 Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant.
Ballistic vests are used by fire and EMS personnel during critical, high-stakes situations, including incidents involving an active shooter. Each ambulance and our frontline engine will be equipped with vests.
The state has recently adopted the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 3000: Standard for an Active Shooter / Hostile Event Response (ASHER) Program as the statewide standard for active shooter training. These vests will be used during training and real-life scenarios.
The Department was awarded $10,781.87 as part of the FY25 Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant. Merrimac Fire also used grant funding to purchase a combustible gas detector/4-gas meter, a handheld device designed to detect multiple gas concentrations simultaneously; a handheld thermal imager; and ropes and related hardware.
“These vests are valuable assets to our department and are another example of the additional training and equipment that is needed for our firefighters today,” said Chief Fisher.