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Dewey Fire Chief Chad Schueler and firefighter Mike Bolinger took off for Bristol, Virginia Friday morning.

They made a purchase with Kinderhook - a volunteer fire department -.just north of Bristol. They purchased 28 SCBA's to replace the 20 SCBA's they own. The new SCBA's are 2014 models, and Chief Schueler said they are well in service for them to use.

SCBA's, otherwise known as Self-Contained Breathing Apparatuses, keep the firefighters from breathing in smoke when they enter house fires. It also reduces cancer risks. Chief Schueler added that brand new masks and voice amplifiers would be picked up.

On Thursday Chief Schueler said they found out about the deal on Facebook (pictured below). Talks with Dewey City Manager Kevin Trease and the Kinderhook Fire Department began to take place.

They wanted to make sure that the deal was legit before they went to Bristol for the weekend. Turns out that the Kinderhook Fire Department had a grant approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and were getting brand new SCBA's themselves.

Chief Schuler said the volunteer fire department in Virginia just wanted to help another volunteer department like Dewey Fire. He said the purchase for all 28 SCBA's only cost $7,500.

Kinderhook helped them in more ways than one. They told Chief Schueler that he and Bolinger could stay in the two extra rooms they have at their station.

The hospitality came as no surprise to the Chief. He said "it was pretty neat" and that "firefighters always come together to help each other out."

And if Dewey Fire were to purchase the items brand new, it would have cost them $180,000. Instead, with the City of Dewey meeting them half-way, they spent $7,500 this weekend. Chief Schueler said they are essetially saving Dewey residents $170,000.

The old SCBA's Dewey Fire owns will be given to other volunteer fire departments in Washington County free of charge. Chief Schueler said they want to help out their neighbors and they can use the SCBA's to fill whatever need they may have.