Contributed funds could save a firefighter’s life Money will go to buy CO detector for air packs
Posted on Wednesday, October 8, 2008
A continuous carbon-monoxide monitor and audible alarm are needed to bring the Bella Vista Fire Department air-supply equipment up to standards set by the National Fire Protection Association.
The monitor and alarm are placed on a compressor that is used to fill the oxygen bottles firefighters rely on for their survival.
They will soon be getting one, and it won't cost the taxpayers a penny.
The family of the late William "Bill "F. Payer, May 14, 1933-June 17, 2008, has established a memorial fund to obtain the monitor and alarm.
It began when contributions to the Bill Payer Fire Fighters Respiratory Protection Fund were requested, instead of flowers, at his memorial service.
"Dad was not a flower person; he was adamant about giving back to the community. It was the right thing to do," said Fran Payer-Radford, one of Payer's two surviving daughters. She has lived in Bella Vista for 15 years.
Payer's widow, Annette, continues to reside in Bella Vista.
The fund has received donations in excess of the $ 3, 800 needed. All additional donations will be given to the BVFD for training and other equipment, according to a press release from Radford.
Payer was a firefighter / emergency medical technician for more than 30 years in Oxnard, Cal., and moved to Bella Vista 14 years before his death. Part of his duties were to insure that his fellow firefighters had reliable Self Contained Breathing Apparatus.
Payer suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, from breathing contaminated air while working as a firefighter, and was medically retired.
The current oxygen system draws air from out- Tanks: side the station, through a pipe, to fill a large breathing-air-supply compressor. It is then used to fill the storage cylinders that remain in the firehouse; these are used in turn to fill the smaller air-pack cylinders that the firefighters wear.
There are 30- and 45-minute cylinders, or bottles, of compressed air; they are filled in a self-contained unit in case of combustion.
The BVFD Rescue Truck carries additional storage cylinders, on site, to fill the small bottles.
The large compressed-air cylinders can be used to run air chisels and other tools as well.
"There is an ever broadening awareness of safety issues," said Payer's son Marty.
"If the fund makes one firefighter safe, who saves one other person, it will be a cool thing to have accomplished."
Donations are still be accepted. Send them to First Western Bank in Bella Vista at 575 Memorial Drive, Bella Vista, Ark. 72714. Make checks payable to the Bill Payer Fire Fighters Respiratory Protection Fund.
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