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While people in the D.C. area are used to seeing firefighters show up to burning buildings wearing top-of-the-line gear that’s National Fire Protection Association compliant, other parts of the world aren’t so lucky.
A donation from the Prince George’s County Fire and EMS Department will give firefighters in Liberia a little more protection, and a little more confidence, the next time a fire breaks out.
Spread out on the floor of a fire house in Capitol Heights, Maryland, were 40 sets of the standard firefighter personal protective equipment — items such as boots, pants and helmets. It’s the standard uniform many firefighters wear when they run into a burning building.
The next time that equipment gets a good cleaning, it’ll be sent to firefighters in Liberia.
“Our firefighters are trained that this is the gear that’s going to keep them safe,” said Chief Tiffany Green with Prince George’s County Fire and EMS. “They’re heroes. They go into burning buildings, but having equipment that keeps them safe is important. It gives them that confidence to go into an environment that’s unsafe, to be able to save someone’s life, knowing that they have the proper gear to protect themselves.”
Without that gear, Green said, “You just can’t do the job.”
The donation came from a meeting between Prince George’s County Council member Wala Blegay, whose father is from Liberia, and Liberia’s Vice President Jeremiah Koung, who recently visited the D.C. region.
Acting County Executive Tara Jackson and Chief Green quickly approved the donation.
“We’re not using these, and just the fact that we can just send them to a place in need means so much,” Blegay said. “It opened our eyes.”
The Liberian community in the D.C. region is among the largest in the country.
Sebastian Teclar, a leader in the Liberian-American community in the D.C. area who was on hand for the announcement, said sometimes first responders there are entering burning buildings with sneakers or a type of slippers on instead.
“They have none of it. If they have something, they don’t have enough,” he said. “We know it’s not safe.”
That’s why representatives from the Liberian embassy were also thankful.
“Some wear firefighting clothes, some wear jackets,” said Isaac Chenoweth Yeah, the deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Liberia in D.C., pointing to what people inside the firehouse were wearing. “So what is available, that is what they use, but you know, we need more firefighting stuff to be able to protect them and protect lives.”
He promised the embassy would hold a special ceremony to honor the Prince George’s County fire chief next month. For Green’s part, she couldn’t imagine firefighters here being sent into danger without the gear her colleagues overseas don’t have.
“It’s really disheartening to hear this is still going on, even in places like Liberia,” Green said. “The fact that we were able to help them to keep their firefighters safe is important.”
