Reading Resident, Home Depot Donate Masks To First Responders

READING, MA — A Reading resident and the local Home Depot donated more than 200 respirators to the Reading Police and Fire Departments. On Wednesday, first responders received 240 respirators from the Reading Home Depot, and a resident found an additional 10 respirators in his house and donated them to the police department.

"Personal protective equipment such as the donations we received yesterday is crucial to keeping all of our Reading first responders safe and healthy as they continue to respond to emergencies in the community," Police Chief David Clark said in a statement. "We're thankful for the generosity of the resident and the management and staff at Home Depot and we are beyond appreciative of their donations."

First responders will use the equipment to protect them from exposure to the coronavirus as they respond to calls involving people who may be reporting symptoms or may have been in contact with a person who tested positive for the virus. Both departments aim to keep personnel healthy to serve the community as the virus spreads.

"With the country's current situation, these critical protective supplies have become very difficult to come by," Fire Chief Greg Burns said. "Reading firefighters are on the front line of this pandemic responding to medical calls and transporting patients, so one of our major concerns is using our local supply without having available replacements. Any donation large or small will go a long way in ensuring our personnel have a supply of this crucially important protection."

Both donations will be issued to police and fire personnel as needed as the COVID-19 situation continues to develop.