MID-HUDSON – Local police and fire officials across the Mid-Hudson are welcoming the federal aid they are receiving from Washington as the pandemic continues one year after it began. But, universally they continue to run into roadblocks in obtaining good personal protective equipment for their staff.
Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney (D, NY-18) conducted an online discussion with emergency services leaders in his district on Monday with Poughkeepsie City Fire Chief Mark Johnson noting he continues to have difficulty in securing PPE.
“The good N-95s, made by 3M, if you could find them, are extremely expensive. We finally got a shipment almost nine months after we tried to get them, in the last month,” he said. “Gloves have almost quadrupled, and in some cases, five times the original costs.”
That supply issue was echoed by Middletown City Fire Chief Bob Brady and Beacon City Fire Chief Gary Van Voorhis.
