The Knoxville Fire Department was presented with a donation from Marion County Bank Tuesday afternoon as part of the department’s initiative to purchase new firefighting gear for all its employees. Chief Cal Wyman says that the department’s gear is outdated and is costly to replace.

“We’re trying to get all our gear up to date. A couple years ago, the National Fire Protection Association created a standard where your gear is only good for 10 years. We started with about 15 sets that were about 15 to 18 years old. Through community support and grants, we’ve been able to acquire some of that, but we’re still at the point where we need nine sets. So with the donation we had today, we’re able to outfit one firefighter with brand new gear head to toe. It’s a very costly venture for us, but with donations, we’re able to afford to do that and protect our firefighters.”

The check presented was for $3,500. The department is in need of a total of just over $33,000 dollars.