Equipment donated to BVFD
Posted on Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Bella Vista firefighters can breathe easier now.
The family of William “ Bill ” F. Payer donated a carbon-monoxide monitor and an audible alarm for the air-supply equipment to benefit the Bella Vista Fire Department on Nov. 11.
Payer was a firefighter and EMT for more than 30 years in Oxnard, Calif. He lived in Bella Vista for 14 years before his death in June.
He was well-known to Bella Vista Fire Chief Steve Sims and visited the station on a regular basis. Payer’s widow, Annette, continues to reside in Bella Vista, as does one of his daughters, Fran Payer-Radford.
Following his death, the family established the Bill Payer Firefighters Respiratory Protection Fund, which has raised nearly $ 4, 000.
The driving force behind the memorial fund was Bill’s son, Marty Payer, who worked diligently with Mako, the company that supplies the equipment.
Payer’s children fondly recalled family days at the firehouse and their father always bringing his work home with him.
“ He was constantly checking (the airsupply equipment ); he was very methodical, ” Marty Payer said. His father was responsible for the breathing apparatus at his firehouse.
Payer might be gone, but his legacy lives on in the local firehouses.
“ Every time that machine is working, (Bill Payer ) is working for us, ” Sims said.
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