NEW YORK MILLS, Minn. (KFGO/KVRR) – Technology is always evolving when it comes to saving lives – especially when it comes to fires, where seconds can mean the difference between life and death.
In New York Mills, a fundraiser has been set up to bring the GreenPort Portable Fire Suppression Tool to the county.
New York Mills Police Chief Bobby Berndt said the new tool will help law enforcement officers suppress fires, lower temperatures so a fire doesn’t spread as quickly, or even throw it through a window to help save lives and property
By lowering the temperature of a room on fire, first responders gain time to rescue people stuck inside. It works by releasing aerosol into the air and expanding. Berndt said this would be helpful in rural Minnesota where it often takes fire departments some time to make it to the scene.
“In the middle of the night, we’re not sleeping at the fire station,” New York Mills Fire Chief Nick Roder said. “So, we have to get to the station, get our gear on, and get to a fire situation. That can take a couple of minutes, it can take 15 minutes. Anything that can knock down a fire can buy us time to get there and suppress it.”
The Perham Masonic Lodge is running the fundraiser. Kenny Friese is with the Lodge. He said the fire suppression tool idea came from Wisconsin.
“We picked up on this and saw the technology and saw the possibility of what this can do. We decided to move it over here in Minnesota and raise money for our law enforcement and get these equipped in their vehicles,” Friese said.
The benefit is set for Feb. 17 from 7 p.m. to midnight at the New York Mills Ballroom. Funds raised will help provide the tools to the New York Mills, Perham and Wadena Police Departments and the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office.
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