INGALLS — Ingalls Fire Department is back up to snuff.

After months of being without some essential equipment, such as oxygen tanks needed to enter burning buildings, the team of firefighters recently received its needed tools.

“We have everything and are full go,” Ingalls Fire Chief Logan Caulk said. “The brand-new gear — it’s all here.”

Caulk said two additional masks are still on the way, but it is not an issue that will keep him and his crew from doing what they need to do.

“Every single person in our building is 100 percent in service,” he said.

In March, Ingalls Town Council approved transferring $140,000 from the water department general fund to the water department surplus fund to pay for expenses after an Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration (IOSHA) inspection revealed some outdated fire equipment, including oxygen tanks worn by firefighters working inside structures.

Without the tanks, firefighters were able to work only outside a structure fire. If entrance to a building was necessary, they had to call on other area departments for help.

Along with the gear, in a separate purchase of $5,000, the department acquired a used vehicle to serve as a battalion car.

The town council also has been in discussions about applying for grants through the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that would help pay for fire department facility and equipment upgrades.

“We want to let people know we are in service,” Caulk said. “It’s definitely a weight lifted off the shoulders knowing my guys are going to be safe, being able to serve our community, and to let our neighboring fire departments they can rely on calling us.”

Caulk said the Ingalls department has already been called on to help out, noting a recent fire in Lapel.

“The equipment has already been made useful,” Caulk said.