Gear Up Gets Fire Gear to Needy Countries

SOUTH SALEM – Vinny Forras is a lucky man.

As a first responder at Ground Zero, he’s lucky to be alive. In his wife, Monica, he’s lucky to have found a soul mate. And, while, it’s not all been easy for him since that fateful day, this great big bear of a man has continued to do the only thing he knows how to do: Give.

And through his Gear Up Foundation (located in South Salem) that’s exactly what he’s done – not just for the United States, but in 16 Latin American countries and counting.

Gear Up takes old fire equipment that’s run its course here in the U.S., and repurposes it where it’s needed, as Forras informed a crowd in Westport while Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy welcomed the resident hero at the state’s 15th Anniversary 9/11 Ceremony, reminding families of victims that they continue to be in the nation’s thoughts and prayers.

“We are joined here 15 years later to remember what you’ve been through.
The losses that you’ve experienced,” Malloy told families and friends of victims. “And let me say this, that all of us here today and all in our nation have been impacted by your strength, and your commitment, and your fidelity, and your willingness to share your experiences.”