Manhattan First Responders Get Respirator Masks From Orland Park Firm

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article stated EzCloud Solutions was based in New Lenox. This article has been updated to reflect that the company is based in Orland Park.

MANHATTAN, IL — First responders working with the Village of Manhattan will have more reliable respirator masks thanks to a donation that was made possible by a New Orland Park-based company.

Manhattan Mayor Mike Andrieansen announced the donation of the 100 masks, which came from a donation totaling $20,000 by EzCloud Solutions in Orland Park, the village announced on Wednesday. The masks will be donated to the Manhattan Village Police Department, the Emergency Management Agency, and the Manhattan Fire Protection District.

The donation was made in honor of National Police Week, which took place in May.

The respirators are electrostatic with replaceable filters and each unit comes with a nylon tactical carrying case with five replacement filters, officials said in a news release. The 100 masks will be divided among all three agencies for use in the field, the village said Wednesday.

“The TR1 mask is rated higher than the disposable N95 masks, with the ability to filter 98.6 percent of 2.5-micron particles,” Adrieansen said in the release. “This translates into superior protection from COVID and many other airborne particulates for our first responders.”

The mask donation was accepted by first responders at the Manhattan Police Department on May 31 by Commanders Mike Holford and Brian Zarnowski, officer James Redlich, and Manhattan Emergency Management Agency Director Terry Doyle.

EzCloud Solutions was represented by company president Victor Kress.

Manhattan Police Chief Jeff Wold said that the respirators will be invaluable to his officers and other village first responders moving forward.

“The level of protection provided to each officer is unmatched without the use of far more complex and costly breathing apparatus,” Wold said.

Kress said that the masks will help first responders breathe cleaner and safer air that will mitigate long-term risk while on the job.