All Forest Service Fire Hoses are Made by Blind and Visually Impaired Oklahomans

Joe Wertz Bio Recent Stories Joe Wertz was a reporter and managing editor for StateImpact Oklahoma from 2011-2019. He reported on energy and environment issues for national NPR audiences and other national outlets. He previously worked as a managing editor, assistant editor and staff reporter at several major Oklahoma newspapers and studied journalism at the University of Central Oklahoma.

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The sole supplier of fire hoses to the U.S. Forest Service is an Oklahoma not-for-profit.

Workers on the group’s Oklahoma City production lines crank out about 60,000 fire hoses a year, writes The Oklahoman columnist Bryan Painter:

The hose comes to NewView, employees cut it to the proper length, add couplings, stamp information on the sides and then roll and box the hoses and ship.

NewView Oklahoma has been assembling fire hoses for about 12 years, and all the workers are blind or visually impaired Oklahomans.

Before he started with NewView — formerly Oklahoma League for the Blind — Larry Troxell spent his days sitting and “rotting,” he tells Painter.

“These people down here gave me the opportunity to come in and be a member of society again,” he said. “I could actually associate with my co-workers here and make money and be a productive part of society again.

Troxell enjoys earning a salary, but tells Painter the real value is his role in providing important equipment for public good. For example, fire hoses he helped assemble were recently used to battle devastating blazes in Colorado.