UPDATED: After Months of Testing, 22 Fire Departments Have Chosen Same Gear

After hauling heavy hoses, crawling through wired boxes and swinging sledgehammers, the Tess Corners Fire Department and 21 other fire departments have agreed to purchase the same brand of new gear, getting a better deal and filtering those savings into taxpayers' pockets.

Four firefighters, one each from Wauwatosa, Waukesha, Racine and the North Shore Fire Department (NSFD), were chosen as testers in a unique program where 22 area fire departments hoped to pool their resources to purchase new "turnouts" — the special coats and pants firefighters wear — and save a few bucks by buying in bulk.

NSFD Deputy Chief Andrew Harris says it all comes down to the fit.

"Properly fitting gear, when you're working under stressful conditions ... any friction, the way the gear's not fitted properly, it starts to wear out the fire fighter," Harris said. "A worn out fire fighter leads to injuries, or worse. So, properly fitted gear is very important."

The final decision turned out to be the same gear that NSFD, and roughly 50 percent of the other 22 departments, already use. So what's the big benefit? Because all the departments are jointly bidding, the vendor, Paul Conway Shields, has agreed to a three-year price freeze which will save $150 to $200 per set of gear. Typically, costs rise 3 to 4 percent each year.

"For three years, those 22 departments are locked into one vendor, with no price increases. I can't tell you how huge that is," Harris said.

But looking at an even larger picture, Harris says it's the joint effort of all 22 departments that means even more than the savings.

"I think the biggest thing about this whole thing is to get 22 departments to put all biases or relationships aside," Harris said. "No one came in and said 'it has to be this set of gear.' That's very difficult to do."

Area fire departments anticipate purchasing between 102 and 221 sets of turnout gear each year during the next five years. Here are some of the statistics for fire departments in Patch communities:

2011

• Greendale: 4
• North Shore: 0
• Menomonee Falls: 4 to 5
• Oak Creek 1 to 2
• Tess Corners: 7 to 10
• City of Waukesha: 10
• Town of Waukesha: 6
• Wauwatosa: 75

2012

• Greendale: 4
• North Shore: 5
• Menomonee Falls: 4 to 5
• Oak Creek 1 to 2
• Tess Corners: 7 to 10
• City of Waukesha: 10
• Town of Waukesha: 6
• Wauwatosa: 10

2013

• Greendale: 4
• North Shore: 5
• Menomonee Falls: 4 to 5
• Oak Creek: 50
• Tess Corners: 7 to 10
• City of Waukesha: 10
• Town of Waukesha: 4
• Wauwatosa: 10

2014

• Greendale: 4
• North Shore: 5
• Menomonee Falls: 4 to 5
• Oak Creek 1 to 2
• Tess Corners: 7 to 10
• City of Waukesha: 10
• Town of Waukesha: 4
• Wauwatosa: 5 to 10

2015

• Greendale: 4
• North Shore: 90
• Menomonee Falls: 4 to 5
• Oak Creek 1 to 2
• Tess Corners: 7 to 10
• City of Waukesha: 10
• Town of Waukesha: 6
• Wauwatosa: 5 to 10