BELLA VISTA — Another donation from the Bill Payer Firefighters Respiratory Protection Fund is in place at the Bella Vista Fire Department - a moisture detector for the air supply equipment.

The fund was started by the Payer family after Bill’s death in June 2008. He was a firefighter and EMT for more than 30 years in Oxnard, Calif. and lived in Bella Vista for 14 years.

Part of his duties were to insure that his fellow firefighters each had a reliable Self Contained Breathing Apparatus.

That position in theBVFD is now the responsibility of firefighter/paramedic Seth Kallick.

Kallick explained that storage cylinders are filled with compressed air brought in through a pipe from outside the station. These cylinders are used to fill the small air pack bottles that firefighters wear.

A large filter is now in place to keep moisture out of the air cylinders. Excessive moisture will cause the breathing apparatus to freeze up and deprive a firefighter of air.

Constant monitoring is recommended by the National Fire Protection Agency.

With the equipment donated by the Payers, Kallick can immediately determine if excessmoisture or carbon monoxide is present. Before the installation, it took 3-5 days to receive this information from the testing laboratory.

The Payer fund has contributed more than $5,000 to the BVFD and is continuing to do so. Fran Payer-Radford said they will continue to focus on the respiratory system for the department.

“Regulators and masks are expensive, and upgrades are needed,” Fran said.

Donations to the Bill Payer Firefighters Respiratory Protection Fund can be made at the First Western Bank at 575 Memorial Drive in Bella Vista. Hours are Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

News, Pages 9 on 11/04/2009

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