ABOVE: Truman Fire Chief Brandon Mosloski, center, flanked by Masons Brother Jack Zoback, Truman Ambulance crew, and James Freeman, Fairmont Fire Department and Master of Chain Lake Lodge. Submitted photo.

FAIRMONT – A Fire Suppression Tool (FST) has been donated to the Truman Fire Department, courtesy of Fairmont’s Chain Lake Masonic Lodge.

Lodge Master and Fairmont Firefighter James Freeman said the decision to begin donations was made two years ago.

“We decided we were going to use a portion of our fundraiser to help out the community a little more in the public eye,” he said. “We decided we would go with that fire suppression tool program. With the help of the Grand Lodge and the Masonic charities, we were able to donate a couple of those to area fire departments.”

The lodge currently has programs like scholarships to Martin County seniors and donations to Heaven’s Table Food Shelf, but have not had a donation system like this before. The money saved was also matched by a network of masonic charities. The first FST was donated to Fairmont Fire Department in 2023.

An FST is meant to be used when there is a full-scale building fire. The package acts like a tiny explosive, which when detonated spreads cooling material that can reduce temperatures by up to 1000 degrees. Freeman said it is completely safe to use, as it does not suck any oxygen out of the air.

“That helps for throwing this in before you do an interior attack where you’d be putting firefighters in harm’s way,” he said. “Also it’s there to help reduce the amount of damage fire would cause for the structure.”

Freeman said Fairmont has not had to use theirs yet, but when the situation unfortunately arises it will be ready. He said the devices have a 15-year shelf life.

And now it is Truman’s turn to receive one. Truman Fire Chief Brandon Mosloski said they are excited to receive such a generous donation.

“It’s going to help our department,” he said. “Sometimes for us, it is tougher as a smaller department to have people on scene right away. It will help us in a fully engulfed structure to do a full [flame] knockdown before manual suppression.”

With Fairmont and Truman served, Freeman said the current plan is to continue donating FST’s to Martin County Fire Departments moving forward as more money is allocated. He said being able to benefit area fire departments in this way is huge and speaks to Freemasonry as a whole.

“We’re a bunch of men trying to make ourselves better and provide aid for the community and our surrounding towns,” Freeman said. “We thought it would be good we could provide more support to the community.”