Should La Crosse firefighters have body armor?

Madison being outfitted with bulletproof vests

This week, Madison firefighters will join the ranks of emergency responders outfitted with bulletproof vests.

When asked if he’d like to have the same gear for his guys, La Crosse fire chief Gregg Cleveland said it’s been discussed and could happen in the future.

Meanwhile, Cleveland says La Crosse firefighters have been taught to evaluate each scene for possible dangers.

“They’re trained to kind of take in the whole scene,” Cleveland said. “Who’s there, what vehicles go where, is there anything out of the ordinary for this particular place that they might be going to?”

Cleveland says part of the challenge of making the case for firefighter body armor is successfully arguing that the expenditure would be necessary considering the historically low danger of firefighters getting shot while responding to calls.  

“When you make these requests, there’s a lot of criticism in terms of the local area here,” Cleveland admitted. “La Crosse has never had that happen before, and what statement does that say about our community?”

One vest can cost several hundred dollars. 

Cleveland says the firefighters that are dispatched with the La Crosse Police Dept. Emergency Response Team do wear body armor. The federal agency FEMA recommend the vests for all firefighters.  

“Our policies and procedures are to dispatch the La Crosse police immediately and essentially, we stage away from the building until they go in, make an assessment and they let us know when it’s safe to enter the building,” Cleveland said.