CAFD will purchase exhaust systems

It’s been a year since the city of Cloquet denied the transfer of some state aid to the Cloquet Area Fire District for the purchase of a vehicle exhaust removal system. Now, using levied funds, the CAFD’s three stations will soon be outfitted with the equipment since the board approved a quote at its Oct. 16 meeting.

Battalion chief Mike Garberg, who did the research on installation companies, said the removal systems work by attaching a flexible pipe to the exhaust of the fire engines while idling or in operation at the station. The hose automatically detaches outside as the vehicle drives off on a call, saving firefighters time of having to make the detachment themselves.

“Diesel exhaust is very cancerous, and so it’s a big, obviously, job hazard for us, and [the exhaust removal system] eliminates that cancerous component being in our apparatus and our building where we sleep and live and breathe all the time,” Garberg said.

The Plymovent vehicle exhaust systems will cost $114,972 to install in all three stations, according to a memo from TNC Industries Inc. Fire chief Jesse Buhs said additional costs for modifying electrical supply, roofing exhaust ports, and tailpipe modifications would be done by other vendors in a competitive bid process.

In the event of Station One getting a new building, Buhs said the system can be moved, but the district would have to pay installation costs.

For the past year, Buhs said, he tried to get a FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant to cover the costs but was unsuccessful. Regardless, the system was budgeted for 2024 using the district’s levied funds.

Board member Dave Sarazin, once a firefighter in Duluth, said the wall of his former fire hall was much cleaner after they got one of the systems. To him, it is evidence of their effectiveness. Sarazin told Garberg he was surprised they didn’t already have what is common equipment.

Buhs said the plan is to have them in place by the end of the year or in early 2025.