Ligonier Valley Endowment provides grant for new decontamination system

Firefighters, police officers and ambulance personnel in Ligonier will be a little safer thanks to a new decontamination system purchased with a $10,000 gift from Ligonier Valley Endowment.

The system will be shared by Ligonier Borough fire department, Ligonier Valley police and Mutual Aid’s borough station. Ambulance service director of emergency operations Lorenzo Garino said the decontamination device medics had been using was on its last leg.

“It’s something that we really wanted to have,” he said. “Without the endowment, it would’ve never been possible.”

The decontamination units were in high demand at the start of the coronavirus pandemic and can be used to disinfect vehicles and buildings. Mutual Aid uses them to clean out ambulances, stretchers and other equipment after patient transports.

For borough firefighters, it’s a big upgrade from the homemade sprayer they rigged up at the start of the pandemic after learning how costly the systems are, said Fire Chief Corey Blystone. They used it to spray down fire trucks and the station.

“It’s pretty pricey,” a cost that wouldn’t have been feasible for the department without help from the endowment, he said.

The system can disinfect various areas, including seats, door handles, keyboards and electronics, from any type of virus, Garino said. The unit weighs about 50 pounds and can be used with a handheld sprayer or to fog a room, increasing turnaround time for first responders.

“We’re very appreciative that when we need things, the community always steps in,” he said.