When firefighters responded to a deadly shooting at a manufacturing plant in Aurora, Illinois, they were missing a critical piece of gear. But that won’t be the case for much longer.
A special tactical unit from the Aurora Fire Department that responds to emergency situations with police will receive 60 bulletproof vests, said Clayton Muhammad, director of communications for the city of Aurora.
“When you have heroes stepping up like our first responders did, we want to make sure we prioritize safety,” Muhammad said.
The decision to equip firefighters with bulletproof vests was made before the February 15 shooting, Muhammad said.
The shooting at Henry Pratt Co. left five people dead and six injured, including five police officers. No firefighters or paramedics were injured in the attack.
The shooting was the first time firefighters responded alongside police as part of a combined tactical team that trained for mass casualty emergencies over the past year, Muhammad said.
“We knew through our training there was a need for them to be protected.”
The Aurora City Council will meet on March 12 to take a final vote on the vests. The vests will likely be purchased shortly after the vote, which is expected to pass, and given to the firefighters, he said.
The town made $110,000 available to purchase the vests, but the cost will be just over $86,000 for 60 vests, Muhammad said.
The town is open to considering expanding the availability of vests for first responders, should public safety officials express the need for them, he added.
When it comes to lessons for other towns from this tragedy, Muhammad encouraged towns to listen to their public safety officials.
“The message is in our actions. This process was already underway at the suggestion of our public safety officials. We hear those on the front line loud and clear,” he said.
“We hope we don’t have to go through anything like that ever again, but we know we have better training to keep our communities safe.”
