Newburgh Firefighter Scott Mocko rappels down with a self-rescue rope.

NEWBURGH - All firefighters in the City of Newburgh now have self-rescue ropes and newer helmets, thanks to a state grant.

State Senator William Larkin of Cornwall-on-Hudson, in cooperation with the City of Newburgh IAFF Local 589 Firefighters Union, helped secure $55,000 for several pieces of updated safety equipment, including longer and thicker self-rescue ropes and lighter, more sturdy, helmets, for all firefighters in the city.

The helmets will be replacing ones that have been in use since 1990, and old self-rescue ropes, which are 35 feet long, 6 millimeters round, and “not as safe” as Deputy Fire Chief Chris Barrett said, will be replaced by brand new 50-foot, 8 mm ropes.

“These new helmets afford our members better eye protection and are lighter in weight than those previously used,” he said. “These harnesses are a vital piece of equipment that will enable a firefighter to escape a burning building either through a window or off a roof if their exit is cut off by fire.”

“You know, we always talk about ‘well, they’re going to go into a building,’ but how many people think at 2 o’clock in the morning whether they have all of their proper equipment,” said Larkin.  “It was very clear to us when we looked at it, that it (the old equipment) was outdated.”

Firefighters demonstrated the usage of the new ropes at 257 Liberty Street, a city owned property, where a firefighter rappelled down two floors using a self-rescue rope, intended for usage when all other potential exits have been blocked by fire or collapse.

Barrett said all firefighters will be receiving at least four hours of new training on the self-rescue ropes, training also funded from the grant. He said the new gear is the same equipment FDNY firefighters received after a fatal accident in Brooklyn several years ago where firefighters that didn’t have the ropes were killed when there was no escape from a blaze.