A surplus emergency response vehicle used as a decontamination unit at hazardous materials incidents has been transferred by Delaware County Council to be converted for use at tactical emergencies by the Central Delco Tactical Response Team.
Council Chairman Thomas J. McGarrigle said County Council filled a void after he learned from Springfield Township Police Chief Joseph Daly that the team needed a vehicle to carry equipment to be used by team members when they are deployed. McGarrigle said Council decided to lease the vehicle to the tactical team when the decontamination unit was replaced.
The vehicle was transferred to the tactical team at the County Council meeting held Sep. 18 at the Springfield Township Municipal Building, where it was displayed before its conversion for use by the tactical team, which is one of six SWAT teams in Delaware County. The multi-jurisdictional tactical unit consists of 85 members, including command, operations, negotiators and EMS, from 13 municipalities as well as the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office and the Criminal Investigation Division of the Office of the District Attorney.
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Joining in the transfer of the vehicle were (from left) Delaware County Emergency Services Director Edwin J. Truitt, Councilman David J. White, Council Vice Chairman Mario J. Civera Jr., Springfield Police Officer Jeffrey Shull, a member of the tactical team, Springfield Det. James Devaney, Commander of the Central Delco Tactical Response Team, McGarrigle, Daly, Springfield Police Officer Andrew McKinney, a tactical team member, Councilmembers John P. McBlain and Colleen P. Morrone, Springfield Commissioners President Jeffrey Rudolph and Ed Beebe, of the Delaware County Emergency Services Department.
