This morning, Barrie Fire and Emergency Services received 146 face shields that are "vital" for front-line firefighters.
Representatives from Molded Precision Components (MPC) made the presentation at Barrie Fire and Emergency Services Headquarters Wednesday morning.
David Yeaman, who owns the Oro-Medonte company, delivered the three boxes of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the station and provided a quick tutorial on how to assemble the two-piece product.
“The availability of the product is not all that available,” said Yeaman. “There have been a lot of products that have been made quickly and put on the market, and that’s been great, but they aren’t all that good for long-term use.”
MPC is a precison plastic injection molder that produces equipment for the medical and automotive field.
On May 26, MPC celebrated the production of their one-millionth face shield headband.
To date, the company has donated over 25,000 shields to businesses and services in the region. With 146 donated today to Barrie Fire, the Oro-Medonte based company will be donating 500 to the emergency services in their immediate community next week.
The face shield headbands are able to be adjusted and fit any person without elastics that are non-recyclable, and without foam which soaks in bacteria.
Dan Speight was one of the firefighters that accepted the donation and talked about how special it was to receive it.
“This is huge for us and it's vital, obviously, during the pandemic,” said Speight. “Acquiring PPE right now is very difficult because everyone wants some and with us on the frontline, we have gone through lots. We have to make sure we’re not bringing any virus back to the station or our families.”
Speight said the shields fit perfectly and will allow he and his fellow firefighters to work without fear of a mask fogging up.
“It fits really well on the forehead area and isn’t too tight at all,” said Speight. “We don’t have to mess around with our PPE and instead can focus on the task at hand.”\
