IL City Approves 60 Bulletproof Vests for Firefighters

The Aurora City Council this week approved buying 60 bulletproof vests for firefighters who accompany police into dangerous situations.

The purchase comes in the wake of the Feb. 15 mass shooting at the Henry Pratt Co. building that claimed the lives of five workers and injured six police officers.

On that day, firefighters accompanied police officers into the building to find and confront the shooter as part of special tactical units. It was the first time the city had used the combined units. The idea is that paramedics are on the scene to quickly help with injuries during an incident.

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As it happens, plans were underway for purchase of the vests before the shooting, but those plans did not materialize in time for the Feb. 15 incident. The firefighters still went in with the police, and city officials wanted to get the purchase done so that would not happen again without the bulletproof vests.

With the 60 vests, every fire vehicle would be equipped with them, a fire official said.

The city will spend $86,349 to buy the 60 bulletproof vests, as well as helmets, accessories, goggles and medical supplies. The contract would cover buying from Pro-Tech, Henry Schein Medical Supply and Galeton.

The purchase price is below the $110,000 that had been included in the 2019 budget for the equipment.

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