The Warren County Ambulance District received a $55,000 state ARPA grant to purchase kevlar vests for EMS personnel to use in the field. Lieutenant Brad Angert said the vests are considered an industry standard, and will help improve safety for their personnel. 

“It was something we needed to catch up with the times with, without paying taxpayer dollars,” said Angert. 

The grant came from the state ARPA funds allocated by the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021. Angert said they applied for the grant and received it at the end of last year. Per the ARPA final rule issued in 2022, those funds were required to be allocated by the end of 2024 and must be spent by the end of 2026. 

The district has already purchased the ballistic vests and they have been deployed for all EMS personnel in the field. 

“It’s definitely something for the crew side that it gives us that added layer of protection to help us reinsure ourselves as we’re going onto some of these scenes, some of these calls,” said Grant Krull, WCAD community relations coordinator and EMT. “It’s a more dangerous environment than people think.”

The grant came with a 10% matching requirement, allowing the district to spend only $5,500 to purchase the 36 vests, one for each crew member and six spares. 

Angert said their personnel have all been trained on their use and are now required to keep them on the ambulance whenever they are on duty. 

“You have to have that with you every morning when you come on duty. When the person you were relieving takes theirs off, you have to put yours on the truck,” said Angert. 

According to Angert, the vests are rated to protect personnel from knives, tasers and most firearms outside of high-powered rifles. 

While they do not plan to use the vests on all of their calls, having them on the ambulance with crews provides an added layer of security when calls include a police presence, or there may be other extenuating circumstances. 

“We wrote policies that we just put in place, basically any kind of call that may involve any type of weapon, from a gun to a knife, tasers, anything like that, to violent domestics that we go on,” said Angert. “Anyone that might have a flag on the dispatch address maybe with a history of violence.”

Kevlar vests do have a shelf life of roughly five years and Krull clarified that their vests did come with a five year warranty, and while the district’s use will not be as intensive as law enforcement personnel they are making plans to replace them when the time comes. 

“We’ve absolutely started that process of looking at, how are we going to be able to keep up with these to make sure they’re still in good quality for our crews,” said Krull. 

According to a press release from the district, they are only the second fire or EMS agency in the county to deploy the vests. 

“We are incredibly grateful for the MO ARPA grant that made this purchase possible,” said WCAD Chief Darren Lenk. “This investment not only protects our crew members but also ensures that they can continue providing the excellent care our community relies on.”