MSA Safety, DuPont Personal Protection and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) have concluded their partnership to annually to provide new turnout gear and helmets through MSA and DuPont’s Globe Gear Giveaway.
Volunteer fire departments across the nation continue to face significant challenges in securing the resources they need to protect their responders and communities.
As the 2025 program concludes, three additional volunteer fire departments have been selected to each receive four sets of Globe turnout gear and four MSA Cairns fire helmets.
In total, 13 departments received gear and helmets this year and the first 500 applicants also received a one-year NVFC membership, courtesy of MSA.
Now closing out its 14th year, the giveaway program has awarded 819 sets of gear and 364 helmets to 186 volunteer fire departments.
Congratulations to the final 2025 recipients: Camps Volunteer Fire Department (Sneedville, TN), Coy (AL) Volunteer Fire Department and Newald (WI) Fire Department.
Serving a large rural district of 223 square miles and more than 6,600 residents, the Camps Volunteer Fire Department responds to an average of 60 calls per year with an entirely volunteer force of 10 firefighters.
Despite their commitment, the department operates with extremely limited financial resources.
The department depends on aging equipment, with some turnout gear that is over 30 years old.
With a growing population, increased call volume and no brush truck to respond to wildland fires, the department struggles to meet rising community needs.
The area is also home to the only three factories in the county, as well as a major gas line, adding to operational risks.
With the addition of new turnout gear, Camps Volunteer Fire Department’s volunteers will be better protected and more prepared to serve their community.
Chief Carlos Welch said: “This donation will help us respond more effectively and efficiently while giving our unpaid volunteers the protection they deserve.”
Coy Volunteer Fire Department protects a small but geographically challenging community situated in a bend of the Alabama River.
With only one way in and out of town, Coy’s volunteers respond to vehicle fires, structure fires, and hayfield incidents across a 15-square-mile area serving roughly 400 residents.
Coy Volunteer Fire Department’s operations are funded almost entirely through donations and fundraisers, with minimal annual revenue compared to operational needs.
Their two fire trucks are both more than 15 years old and are currently undergoing or needing significant repairs, putting the department in a degraded operational status.
The most critical concern is the severe shortage of turnout gear.
Only two of the department’s 18 volunteers have complete sets, and both are over 10 years old and non-compliant.
The department also lacks boots, gloves, and hoods, preventing members from training in live-fire scenarios and limiting their ability to conduct searches safely.
Receiving new gear and helmets will allow the department to properly equip its volunteers, expand its training capacity and help ensure firefighters can perform their duties safely.
Vice President Jabari Gamble explained: “Getting new turnout gear would also help with recruiting and retention for our department.”
Newald Fire Department serves a deeply rural, heavily forested region of 120 square miles in northern Wisconsin.
With a population of 500 residents and a volunteer force of 12 firefighters, the department responds to about 20 calls each year with one of the smallest budgets in the state.
The department currently has no compliant sets of turnout gear, with members relying on gear more than a decade old.
Eight volunteers do not have assigned gear at all and the department lacks the funding to purchase gloves, boots, or hoods.
Chief Paul Behrens’ shared: “We can’t even pay our basic yearly bills, let alone get new gear.”
Receiving new turnout gear and helmets through MSA and DuPont’s Globe Gear Giveaway will dramatically improve safety, readiness and morale for Newald’s volunteers.
Many have been responding with inadequate protection for years.
MSA Safety, DuPont Personal Protection and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) have concluded their partnership to annually to provide new turnout gear and helmets through MSA and DuPont‘s Globe Gear Giveaway.
