Belleville Police Chief Ron Gignac shows off one of the new gas masks purchased for the Belleville Police Service thanks to donations from local businesses. (Photo: Amanda Smith/Quinte News)
There are less than a handful of police forces that have their officers supplied with gas masks and now the Belleville Police Service is included in that group.
The timing couldn’t be better says Police Chief Ron Gignac because in the last two weeks, there have been two carfentanil seizures here in Belleville.
He says it’s all about officer safety.
The purchase of the gas masks, for each officer, was made possible by a generous donation from Ainley Graham and Associates Limited, Don Hart Construction, Settler’s Ridge Homes, Mirtren Homes and Duvanco Homes.
Gignac called the purchase of these masks a game changer and said recently two officers ran into a noxious substance and had to be sent to the hospital. Following their evaluation and testing at the hospital, results came back that the substance they had run into was ‘unknown’, which Gignac says is a huge concern.
Adrian Bax (Settlers’s Ridge Developments), Dave Miron (Mirtren Builders Ltd), Dustin Van Soelen (Duvanco Homes), Brenda Haracha for Don Hart (Don Hart Construction Ltd.) and Brian Paquin and Adam Wilson (Ainley Graham and Associates Ltd) were on hand for the unveiling of the new masks and to receive a certificate recognizing their contribution to the police service.
