North Huron is getting an inflatable shelter for emergency responses, thanks a charitable national sandwich chain.
The Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation provided a $33,442 grant to North Huron Fire Department to purchase an all-weather inflatable shelter.
The North Huron Fire Department submitted the proposal earlier this year, after identifying the need for a mobile, all-weather inflatable shelter to support extended emergency operations.
The shelter will help during response to resource-intensive incidents, like large fires or mass casualty events.
Director of Fire and Public Safety, Chad Kregar said the shelter could be loaned out to other nearby towns when needed.
"We had a county chiefs meeting last Wednesday and I was discussing that I was brining this report forward, because we were rewarded this blow-up shelter where other fire chiefs have asked for the same funding, we were successful," he told council. "Further to this meeting, I'll bring information back and they would like to come to an agreement where the other municipalities could use it on a large-scale basis callout and we'll deliver it."
The shelter is able to rapidly deploy, and provide a heated, enclosed space for coordinating operations during fires or hazardous events.
Kregar said the shelter should last the town for several decades.
"We should get 20 years out of it if we take care of it," he said. "The maintenance requirement is extensive, if it's out in the cold and the rain and the wet or a snow event, we do need to bring it back, hang it, dry it and maintain it."
The Firehouse Subs grant covers the full cost of the inflatable shelter, and the routine maintenance, storage solutions, and eventual component replacements will be built into future fire services budgets.