Franklin County got a safety upgrade recently thanks to a portion of the $435,894 CDBG-CV grant the county received from ADECA.

“This is part of COVID relief money,” explained Franklin County EMA Director Mary Glass.

Each pack contains a variety of items, including elbow splints, products to treat burns, items to help stop bleeding and products to assist with CPR.

The total project includes 26 backpacks. The backpacks themselves were a separate purchase, with the contents – aside from a separate purchase for one-handed operation tourniquets – being purchased from Emergency Products in Cullman.

Glass said each backpack with its contents represents about a $300 investment.

Sections of the kit are color-coded for easy identification, with red pertaining to blood, blue being for burns, yellow indicating items for scrapes and bruises and green for miscellaneous, including a flashlight, scissors and other items.

The backpacks have been distributed across the county. One went to the 911 center. Franklin County EMA has two, one for each truck. Every deputy and investigator will have one in their cars, as will the sheriff. In addition, there is one at the courthouse.

Glass said it was Sgt. Adam Mitchell who had the idea for the packs. Matt Waldrep, president of the Reserve Deputy Program and Capt. Brandon James from 911 Dispatch helped with stocking the kits.

“We appreciate the EMA for doing all this for us,” said Mitchell. “It will be a tremendous asset for our department as well as the citizens of Franklin County.”