ONALASKA, Wisconsin (WXOW) -- We don't see them during the winter, but Onalaska firefighters say grass and brush fires are common in the Coulee Region.
In previous years, the Onalaska Fire Department had roughly eight, lightweight suits meant for combating grass fires that firefighters could share, said firefighter Andrew Barnhardt.
But thanks to a roughly $9-thousand grant from Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources, the department now has new suits for all of its full-time and paid on call staff.
The suits include pants, a coat, gloves and a lightweight helmet.
Barnhardt said they are compliant with National Fire Protection Association standards for keeping his department safe.
But the suits are much lighter than what was a previous option -- wearing full, turnout gear to battle brush fires on hot days.
"The jacket and the pants are 10 times lighter than what we have for turnout gear," Barnhardt said.
"When we have grass fires it's usually warmer out, it's typically not in the winter," he said. "So it gets so much warmer with the heavy gear that we had if we're up in the bluffs or climbing the bluffs or walking a long distance for grass fires like we usually do."
"A lot of times at grass fires we're carrying cans or bags on our backs that are full of water," Barnhardt said. "Then we'll hike out to the fire and empty our five or six gallons of water, or whatever we're carrying and then walk back."
"If you try doing that with your turnout gear on, it's going to be a pretty long day," Barnhardt said.
