CANFIELD –The Cardinal Joint Fire District board took action on body armor and burning buildings as a training session at its recent meeting.

Deputy fire Chief Matt Rarick requested Monday that 10 sets of ShotStop body armor be declared as obsolete so the vests can be destroyed.

“We received information that the armor failed in tests,” Rarick said. “The company, ShotStop Ballistics out of Stow, has gone out of business.”

He said for now, he simply needed permission to destroy the armor. The fire board voted unanimously to declare the armor as obsolete with no value.

Rarick said the armor is used by CJFD members who take part in the county’s Crisis Response Team, which is used for emergency calls in volatile situations.

Also Monday, Chief Don Hutchison received the board’s approval and signatures on contracts to proceed with a controlled burn of two buildings on Fairground property. The first is a small house at the intersection of Leffingwell Road that will be burned in early May, and the second is the pumpkin barn that will be burned later in May. Both structures will be used as live training for the department.

In other business, board Vice Chair Christine Oliver asked about the additions to the minutes that she felt were not recorded in the February meeting, concerning committee appointments for 2024. She asked secretary Sherry LaRosa about the wording and was told the minutes are word-for-word and they are recorded. The recordings are kept for up to a year.

During public comments, Canfield City Manager David D’Apolito asked about a Safer Grant the fire district could get. He asked that if Boardman join the district, would the grant still be a possibility.

Hutchison said, “The larger the department, the more likely they are to get the grant.”

Nothing else was said at the meeting regarding the potential merger of the Boardman Fire Department and the CJFD.

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