Firefighter Turnout Gear Brand Name or Equal No Award Notice

The Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration Veterans Integrated Service Network 2 has issued a Special Notice regarding the cancellation of a small business set-aside Request for Quote (RFQ) for firefighter turnout gear. The original solicitation, numbered 36C24225Q0842, was intended to procure firefighter turnout gear for the Bath VA Medical Center in Bath, New York, and was structured as a brand name or equal procurement. The solicitation was classified under NAICS code 315990 (Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing) and Product Service Code 4210 (Fire Fighting Equipment). The contracting officer, Corey Swinton, formally cancelled the solicitation on August 18, 2025, stating that the government's needs have changed and the original requirement is no longer valid. This Special Notice serves as formal notification to the contracting community that no award will be made under this solicitation.

The primary purpose of this Special Notice is to inform potential contractors and offerors that the firefighter turnout gear procurement will not result in any contract award due to changed government requirements. The original solicitation had a response deadline of August 28, 2025, at 4:00 PM Eastern Time, but this deadline is now moot due to the cancellation. The procurement was specifically set aside for small businesses, indicating that only qualifying small business entities would have been eligible to participate in the original competition. The government has acknowledged the effort expended by offerors in preparing their submissions and has indicated that if the requirement is re-solicited in the future, it will be properly synopsized and posted in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 5. The cancellation appears to be administrative in nature, with no indication of procurement irregularities or other issues that would preclude future solicitation of similar requirements.